With Fire In His Eyes
by Rayne-Malfoy10
Summary: Hermione finds herself in charge of protecting a young man who is out of his time. Things get extremely complicated, though, when fate and love come into play. What is Hermione to do with not one, but two Snapes willing to lay their lives down for her, when it is her responsibility to watch over them and set everything straight again? AU Rated T for now Severus/Hermione eventually
1. Meetings and Mysteries

Hello, lovely readers! I'm back again! And with a new story! Hermione finds herself in charge of protecting a young man who is out of his time. Things get extremely complicated, though, when the Dark Lord, his Death Eaters, Dumbledore, and fate and love come into play. What is Hermione to do with not one, but two Snapes willing to lay their lives down for her, when it is her responsibility to watch over them and set everything straight again?

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. If I did, Hermione would be back in the Marauder's era, living her happily-ever-after with our dear Professor Snape. But she didn't. So therefore, they aren't mine. :'(

Rated T for now, but I think the rating will go up for later chapters. I don't have a beta, so any and all mistakes are mine. If you see any that I should fix, let me know so that I can fix them!

I've talked much too much. Onward! Allons-y!

-Rayne

* * *

_Miss Granger,_

_Would you mind coming into my office and having a word with me after breakfast this morning? There is something I would very much like to discuss with you. It's nothing too urgent, but seeing me sometime this week if you can't this morning is prudent._

_Yours,_

_Professor A. Dumbledore_

Hermione Granger stared at the note and then back at Fawkes, who had been the one to bring her the note from her headmaster to her dorm room so early in the morning. She crawled out of bed with a huff and reached for some parchment and one of her new quills. She jotted down a brief response, telling Dumbledore yes, she could meet with him after breakfast.

She spent the next hour moving quietly around the room, trying not to wake the other seventh years, as she got herself ready for the day. As she did, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that the ancient professor wanted of her. It might have been because of her grades, but she couldn't imagine why. Perhaps he was letting her take her NEWTs early. She was, after all, not supposed to be a student at all. She was 19, and was only there to complete the seventh year of schooling that she, Harry, and Ron had skipped out on.

Hermione couldn't think of anything else that it could possibly have been, though. She wasn't Head Girl, she wasn't even a prefect. She had been doing some extra work with Professor McGonagall, but Dumbledore had suggested it and made all changes in the schedule or curriculum through McGonagall herself. Her parents were fine; she had received a letter from them just before the note from Dumbledore arrived. It might have been something about Harry or Ron, but seeing as though they were currently in Germany on a brief vacation before Auror training started, she doubted it.

After breakfast was over, she made her way up to his office. She gave the password, Snickers (the newest Muggle candy that Dumbledore had discovered and liked immensely), to the gargoyle and made her way up the stairs. The door was open, so she strode in without knocking.

Professor Snape was already sitting in one of the ancient chairs in front of the desk belonging to the even more ancient wizard. Hermione paused to nod her greeting to him. He glared at her and motioned for her to take the seat beside him.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said pleasantly, folding his hands on his desk. "It is so very nice to see you. Hogwarts is lucky to have you as a student for one last year. Everything is going well, I presume?"

"Yes, thank you," she said, nodding. "What did you need to see me for?"

"Lives are at stake, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said gravely. The usually light feeling in the room took a swift change.

"Lives are always at stake," Hermione replied.

"It saddens me to know that a brilliant witch of your age already understands the truth behind that statement," Dumbledore mused. "Miss Granger, we will have a visitor very soon. I need you to watch over him for me. Can you do that?"

"Who?"

"Someone of great importance. I'm afraid I can't tell you now; you will know soon enough."

"When will he be arriving?"

This time, it was Professor Snape who answered. "This Friday night. 11 o'clock at night just in front of the library," he said gruffly, not bothering to face her.

Hermione frowned. "And how do you know that, sir?"

"You'll know soon enough," he answered.

"That's enough, Severus," Dumbledore said. He turned to Hermione once again. "Hermione, I need you to be there when he arrives. Take him to the Room of Requirement, and then report straight back here. Severus and I will both be here to answer all of your questions. One other thing, Miss Granger, before I let you go to your classes. You will be dealing with the second most powerful wizard the world has ever known. If I were you, I'd treat him with at least a little bit of respect." The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes made Hermione a bit nervous.

Snape, who suddenly burst into laughter in the chair beside her, wasn't helping the nervousness, either. "Respect!" he snorted. "Miss Granger, while respect is important, I don't really think that it's what he will need." Snape turned to face her. His eyes had lost their usual sharpness, replaced instead by immense sadness. Hermione was frozen in her seat, unsure of what to do or say. "Just treat him as you would your fellow Gryffindor, and you two will get along famously."

With that, Snape stood up and swept out of the room, his robes billowing behind him in their usual fashion.

Hermione looked back at Dumbledore. The glint was still in his eyes as he smiled at the retreating back of his Potions Professor. "I suggest that you get back to class, Miss Granger."

She rose to leave. As she was walking out of the door, Dumbledore's voice floated to her ears once more. "If anyone knows anything about this situation, Miss Granger, it is Severus. Treat the visitor well and don't be too hard on your professor, either. There is much, much more to that man than meets the eye."

* * *

A/N: Wow. If that's not a dead give-away, I don't know what is. :P

It was super short, I know. The chapters after this will all be longer than this, I promise. :) I will hopefully have the next chapter up in the next couple of days. It is in progress and nearly finished.

For those of you who are skeptical about the second chapter still being in progress, I have the entire story plotted out already. I know exactly how its going to end. Mua haha. I just need to write it all out. :P

SO! Please let me know if this seems like a story worth continuing!

-Rayne


	2. Potions and Points

Hello again! I'm so sorry it took me so long to post this next chapter! I've been super busy moving my ex out of our old apartment and moving myself into my new one and looking for work. If you live in the good ol' USA, you might just know how horribly difficult that is right now. Ugh.

Anyway. Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed and followed this story! I am so thrilled that I got all of those responses with only the first chapter! You guys make me so happy! :D

I don't own these characters. I wasn't satisfied with the ending of the series, though, so I use these characters to make the hopeless romantic in me happy! :P I also don't have a beta, so any and all mistakes are mine. If you see any, PM or review and let me know, and I will make the changes ASAP!

I've talked way too much. On to the next chapter! Allons-y!

-Rayne

* * *

As soon as the door to the Headmasters office closed behind her, Hermione's mind began to reel. Questions that needed answering began spinning through her head and she decided she wanted nothing more than her curiosity satisfied at that moment. If her questions were answered, she might have been able to think with a clearer head.

Unfortunately, though, speaking with Dumbledore only gave her questions and seemed to yield no answers.

Who was this mystery wizard? Why was Dumbledore choosing her to be the one to watch over him? Why did he need watching over? Was he really the second most powerful wizard the world had ever known?

Snape's presence at the strange meeting brought along a fresh wave of questions. Not only his presence, though. The way he had reacted to the entire situation had seemed very un-Snape-like. He had seemed more human than Hermione had ever remembered seeing him. He had been on-edge and concerned. Those were two things that nobody ever connected with Severus Snape. Did Snape know the wizard? Of course he did, Hermione thought. If he didn't, then he wouldn't have reacted the way he did. How close was he to the wizard? Again, Hermione's mind jumped to an answer. Obviously, he was. He was closer to this wizard than he was to anyone else. Never before had he shown so much emotion towards one being. Well, aside from anger and frustration.

By the time Hermione reached the portrait to the Gryffindor Common Room, she had determined that Snape knew the wizard and that either Snape was in debt to the wizard, the wizard was from the better parts of Snape's past and Snape wanted to see him safe, or Snape was in fact gay and the wizard had been a past lover. Hermione highly doubted the last option, but had to keep her mind open anyway. She smiled inwardly to herself at the thought of Snape in love. She really couldn't imagine it at all.

She muttered the password and stepped through the portrait. Ginny was on the other side, ready to assail her with question. She handed Hermione her book bag before motioning to the portrait again.

"We'll be late for potions," Ginny said. "I won't ask too many questions right now. But trust me, after dinner, be prepared to spill."

Hermione rolled her eyes and shouldered her bag as they started towards the dungeons. "I don't know how much I can tell you, Gin," she said honestly.

"Oh, so it's a secret of some sort. Does it have to do with Harry and Ron?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. Speaking of them, though, did you read their most recent letter?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, nodding happily. "I'm glad they're doing so well. But don't try to change the subject, Mione."

Hermione sighed. "I figured that wouldn't work."

"Not with me. So if it wasn't about Harry and Ron, what was it about?"

Hermione was quiet for a moment, weighing her options. She wasn't sure how much Dumbledore would allow her to share, so she opted for withholding the truth until she was sure. "It was about Snape," she told her friend.

"Snape?"

"I'm starting extra lessons with him soon. A sort of apprenticeship, I suppose."

"Kind of like you are with McGonagall?"

"Exactly."

"Why wouldn't you be allowed to tell me that?" Ginny asked as they neared the Potions classroom. They could hear the mutter of the class, and Hermione knew Snape hadn't made it back from Dumbledore's office yet.

"You know Snape," Hermione said, as though that was explanation enough.

Apparently, it was. Ginny leaned against the wall by the door. "Oh, okay. So Snape wouldn't want you to tell. Makes sense, I guess."

"What wouldn't Snape want you to tell her, Miss Granger?" a baritone voice drawled. Both girls snapped around and looked into the scowling face of their least favorite professor.

Hermione swallowed nervously and stared down at the ground. "The meeting with Dumbledore this morning, sir," she said softly. She glanced up at him again. His eyes were burning with anger. "And about the evening lessons we will be having. You know, the ones Dumbledore suggested I take? Starting this Friday." Hermione hoped that Snape would just play along. She hoped he understood what she was trying to do.

Hermione thanked Merlin when Snape opened his mouth again. "Miss Granger, I thought we'd agreed not to tell anyone about those. I don't want all of these dunderheads begging for extra lessons as well. It's bad enough that I have to give them to you."

"With all respect, sir, I don't really think other students would want extra lessons with you. You aren't exactly their favorite," Hermione said, daring to look him in the eye as she spoke.

To her surprise, the glint that appeared in his eyes wasn't anger. Instead, he smirked down at her. "I suppose not, Miss Granger. That makes us a rather good pair, don't you think? The teacher that students hate and the student no one can stand." With that, he moved past them and opened the door. "Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Weasley, for being late."

Ginny opened her mouth to complain, but paused when Snape disappeared into the room. "He took points from me," she said.

"What a git," Hermione muttered.

"He took points from me, Hermione. Ten points from Gryffindor."

"Yes, Gin, I heard."

"He didn't take any from you, though," Ginny pointed out.

Hermione gaped at her friend. "Merlin, he didn't did he?"

"If you don't get into the classroom at once, I'll be taking points for both of you," Snape snarled, once again appearing at the door.

Hermione and Ginny didn't think about the points anymore as they scurried into the room and found their seats.

* * *

_Why didn't he take points from you? He never misses an opportunity to take from Gryffindor._

Ginny's messy handwriting had been scrawled onto a scrap of parchment and passed to Hermione, who was seated beside her, midway through class. Hermione glanced up at Snape, who was busy criticizing a poor Ravenclaw, before scribbling down her response.

_I have no idea, Gin. Maybe Dumbledore told him to go easy on my now that I'm stuck with him for god knows how many extra hours every week?_

Hermione passed it back to Ginny before reaching for some Frog's Breath and Worm's Wart to add to her potion. The parchment was pushed back to her.

_I doubt that would stop Snape. Something more is going on here. Maybe he fancies you?_

_Ginny, be real. This is Snape. That would be so wrong. I can't even think about that without wanting to be sick._

_I was kidding, Mione. _

Hermione sighed and glared at her friend. She crumbled up the parchment and shoved it into Ginny's book bag. When she looked up again, Snape was standing in front of their table, glaring at them. He glanced into Ginny's cauldron. "Miss Weasley," he grumbled, "you stirred clockwise. You should have stirred counterclockwise. Five points from Gryffindor." He peered into Hermione's. He nodded, as though in approval. "See me after class, Miss Granger. And perhaps teach Miss Weasley a thing or two about potions." He turned and walked away, his robes fluttering around him.

"What a git," Hermione muttered for the second time that day.

Ginny glanced at her with wide eyes. "He didn't even criticize you. He didn't take points and practically _complimented_ you. Hermione, what's going on with Snape?"

Hermione shook her head. "I honestly have no idea," she said. "I think, though that I will learn a bit more after class today."

Half an hour later, Snape's gruff voice pierced the nearly silent room. "Class dismissed. All except for Miss Granger."

The class muttered to each other as they put their things away, glancing between Hermione and Professor Snape.

"I expect you to tell me everything at lunch," Ginny told her as she left and headed for her next class.

Hermione sighed and shouldered her bag. She walked up to Snape's desk, where he sat, glaring at a pile of essays on his desk.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked.

Snape glanced up at her. "Yes, Miss Granger. I wanted to say that we will be saying you are my apprentice as a cover story while you are looking after our guest."

"Alright," she said. "Are you saying that my on-the-spot story was a good idea?"

"Hardly," he snapped, his eyes narrowing. "I'm merely suggesting that it will indeed suffice as a cover story. I also wanted to tell you that I will be the one doing rounds after curfew near the library, so you won't have to worry about being caught. Dumbledore has requested your presence, so I will not take points away."

"Thank you, sir," she muttered, glancing down at her feet.

He hummed in response. "I hope you are ready for this," Snape said, his voice having an uncharacteristic softer lilt to it. "The next few months won't be easy on you, Hermione." The use of her name made her head snap up. Her gaze found his once more. "He is going to be a difficult wizard to deal with, I'm afraid. Just… be kind to him. As I said, treat him the way you treat your friends. He's in need of that, I think."

"Do you know him, sir?"

Snape thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "Rather well. He's part of my past."

"You care about what happens to him," Hermione stated rather than asked.

Snape didn't answer. His gaze dropped back to the essays and a frown marred his face.

"I'll do what I can for him, sir," Hermione said, stepping closer to the desk. "I don't know what he needs or what kind of a situation he's in yet, but I promise you, that I will do everything in my abilities to do what I can for him."

Snape glared at her again. "Get out," he snapped. There wasn't nearly as much malice as there usually was in his voice, though. "Please, just get out."

Hermione nodded and made her way towards the door.

As she stepped out of the classroom, she could have sworn she heard her professor mutter, "Thank you, Hermione."

* * *

And so there you have it! I hope you liked it! Review and tell me what you think!

Also, I snuck in something from my favorite Tim Burton film. Virtual cookies to the people who can correctly tell me the name of the film!

Disclaimer: I don't own that film, either. I just absolutely love it. :D

Review, review, review! Reviews are love and love makes authors update faster and faster updates make readers happier and happier readers review! See how this works? Want to be a happy reader who can make an author update faster? Review! :D

-Rayne


	3. Secrets and Surprises

Wow! Two chapters in two days! Don't expect this too often. I had a lot of spare time this morning. :P

No one found the Tim Burton reference in chapter two! I'll tell you waht it is when I post chapter four. Until then, keep looking! :P

Here's chapter three! I still don't own HP (or else I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, Snape and Hermione would have lived happily ever after, Fred wouldn't have died, and Ron would have been found to be a Death Eater and sent to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban!) Nothing against Ron lovers. :P

I also still dont have a beta so all mistakes are mine. If you see any that desperately need to be changed, review or PM me and I'll fix them as soon as I can!

Without further ado, here's the next chapter! Allons-y!

-Rayne

* * *

"So what did the old bat want? Ginny asked as soon as she and Hermione had walked through the portrait after dinner. They seated themselves on the couch in front of the fireplace.

Hermione shrugged. "What do you think?"

"Either you were discussing your extra lessons or he spent the time ravishing you," Ginny said, winking at her friend.

Hermione made a face. "Gin. No. Ew."

Ginny giggled. "Sorry. I guess I can't really imagine that man loving anybody."

"Maybe you just don't want to," Hermione muttered.

Ginny thought for a moment. "I dunno," she said. "I bet he'd be a decent lover."

"What?" Hermione's jaw dropped at her friend's sudden statement.

"Have you ever watched him brew?" Ginny continued. "His fingers. His hands. I bet he's very skilled with them in the sack, too. And his voice. Oh Merlin, I could listen to that voice for days."

Hermione elbowed Ginny lightly. "Quit your drooling. You're imagining him loving somebody, aren't you?"

Ginny laughed and shook her head. "Nope," she answered. She frowned. "I can't get past his face and hair. Put his hands and voice on someone else and I might be able to picture it."

"Blaise Zabini," Hermione said with a coy grin.

Ginny began to giggle. "He was a Slytherin!" she breathed, as though that made it against the laws of nature to think of him.

"And bloody sexy as hell," Hermione said. "Remember the time we accidentally walked into the wrong locker room after the Slytherin and Gryffindor game?"

Ginny grinned. "And he was the only one there. He was completely naked and absolutely gorgeous," she gushed.

Hermione and Ginny both laughed and continued discussing who they thought were good-looking. Hermione was glad for the distraction from her bizarre day. The conversation continued until Hermione had the nerve to bring up Ginny's brothers (all of whom, Hermione couldn't help but admit, definitely had their great qualities. She decided that she would only need a part from each of the Weasley boys to make the perfect man.). Ginny immediately frowned and declared herself too tired to continue. Hermione watched with a smile as her best friend stomped up the staircase to their dorm room.

She pulled her book bag into her lap and pulled out her school work. She spent the next hour completing it and when she was finished, she followed Ginny upstairs.

She was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. That night, she dreamt of a stranger outside of the library with Blaize's body, Fred and George's mischievous grin, Harry's unruly hair, Dean's eyes, and Snape's purring voice.

* * *

The next day passed with almost no incident. Ginny kept most of her questions to herself, allowing Hermione to think things through on her won. Snape seemed to have returned to his usual snarky self, taking twenty points from Hermione when she dropped her bag in the middle of the hallway. There was no mention of a stranger or a mysterious wizard by the library and not once did Dumbledore so much as glance at her.

It wasn't until she was in McGonagall's classroom, getting ready for her extra lessons, that everything came crashing back down on her again.

"Miss Granger," McGonagall said as she stepped into the classroom.

"Good evening, Professor," Hermione said, nodding in greeting.

McGonagall gave her a strange look. "I spoke with Professor Snape this afternoon."

Hermione frowned. "What did you speak with him about?" she asked.

"He mentioned that you would be taking extra lessons from him as well starting Friday."

"Yes, Ma'am, that's the plan."

McGonagall smile stiffly. "Let me be the first to congratulate you. Professor Snape has never before taken on an apprentice or given extra lessons to a student. Not even a Slytherin. This is quite the change in events." She paused and watched Hermione carefully. "He must think very highly of you, Miss Granger."

Hermione managed a small smile. "I really don't think so, Professor. Dumbledore told him to give them to me."

"Quite the contrary, my dear," McGonagall said. "Professor Dumbledore has told me that Severus requested you specifically."

Hermione frowned again. "He did what?" she asked.

"I spoke to Dumbledore after lunch this afternoon. He told me that you were in fact taking lessons from Severus and that he had requested you by name."

"He wanted it to be me?" Hermione's mind was reeling again, coming up with a thousand new questions that she desperately wanted answered. Was it true? Did Snape really ask that it be her? Did he ask that she be the one to meet the stranger? If that's what was going on, then why? Why would the professor who despised her ask her to help?

Hermione remembered back to the day before, when she thought she'd heard him tell her thank you. She shook her head. None of this made sense.

"Yes, he did." McGonagall sighed and took one of Hermione's hands in her own. "Dumbledore also told me that you would have to stop taking extra lessons from me for the time being. We can pick them up closer to the end of the school year, but for now, he said we'd have to stop."

Hermione frowned. "I understand," she said, rising out of her seat. "Thank you for everything, Professor."

"Of course, dear. Come and see me anytime you need. Especially if things with Severus aren't what they seem." Her eyebrow raise suspiciously.

Hermione blushed. "Ginny asked the same thing," she mumbled.

"Asked what?"

"If I was seeing Snape or something."

McGonagall nodded and waited for Hermione to continue.

"There's nothing going on. I promise. I need these extra lessons. That's all they are, though. Just lessons. I'm not seeing a professor or anything of the sort."

McGonagall hummed and seemed satisfied with her answer. "Good. Nonetheless, if he decides to give you any trouble, don't you hesitate to come and tell me. I'll set him straight again."

Hermione smiled fondly at her favorite professor. "Thank you," she said softly before turning and leaving the Transfiguration classroom and hurrying up to the Common Room, still wondering about her newest piece of news.

* * *

Friday came around quickly. The other days of the week had succeeded in bringing Hermione no more answers than she had received in the beginning. Instead, it only succeeded in giving her more questions.

Her classes seemed to take an unusually long time to pass and she found herself constantly moving and fidgeting and fighting away the nerves that had settled themselves in her stomach.

She couldn't wait until 11 that night so she could finally meet this mysterious wizard, but at the same time, she was dreading it as well. She wasn't sure that she was really fit to be the one in charge of looking after this obviously powerful wizard.

She had decided to take Snape's advice and try to treat him as though she would one of her friends. She doubted that, without the advice, she would have done anything differently, but she liked to think that it was the professor's idea, as though that would answer some of the mysteries that floated around this entire situation.

At 10 that evening, after Ginny and the other girls had long since fallen asleep, Hermione slipped on her robe and a pair of slippers before sneaking out of the Common Room and making her way swiftly and silently to the library. It was ten after by the time she got there.

Snape was already standing at the entrance. His hands were clasped in front of him and his head was bowed. He seemed to be deep in though and Hermione hated to disrupt him.

She didn't need to; he looked up at her, already alerted to her presence. "Good evening, Miss Granger," he said gruffly. "You're here rather early, don't you think?"

"I couldn't sleep, sir," Hermione explained. "Too many thoughts running through my head. It's all getting rather jumbled, honestly."

Snape nodded. "I assume a large majority of them will be answered soon."

"I hope so, sir." She looked at him shyly. "Until then, would you mind answer a few of them for me?"

Snape glared at her and was silent. He seemed to be weighing his options. His eyes flashed with frustration and his gaze fell to the floor. "I don't know how many questions I can answer, Miss Granger."

"Where is the wizard from?" she pressed.

Snape grunted and his eyes returned to her. "You Gryffindors and your ridiculous amount of curiosity." Hermione remained silent and for a moment, neither of them said nothing. Snape finally sighed very uncharacteristically. "He's from a very long way away."

Hermione frowned. "One of the possibilities that have gone through my head is that he's a time traveler. From the future maybe."

"Or from the past," Snape said, unclasping his hands and crossing his arms over his chest. He leaned against the wall behind him.

"That's not possible, though. You can't travel forward in time." She looked up at him for a sign of confirmation. When he didn't say anything, only looked at her, her eyes widened. "Can you travel forward in time?"

"It's been done before," he answered vaguely. "By mistake, of course."

"Is it Merlin?" she asked hopefully. She had always thought it would be fascinating to meet him.

For the second time that week, the sound of Snape's laughter met her ears. While the first time had been without humor, this time it was an honest chuckle. The sound was as low as the pitch of his voice and sent shivers down Hermione's back. She couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

"Silly girl," he said, smirking at her. "Of course it isn't Merlin. You would hardly be his caretaker if that were the case."

"But I'm being put in charge of the second most powerful wizard that has ever existed. Why me?"

The smirk on Snape's face disappeared, replaced quickly by his usual frown. "You shall find out soon enough, I think."

"You know him, right?"

Snape considered the question for a moment. "Yes, I do know him. I told you the other day, did I not?"

"You said you were pretty close to him. That he was a part of your past."

Snape only watched her as her mind began putting things together.

"He's from the past," Hermione realized. "Maybe from your school years. He's a part of your past. You knew him. You were close to him. It's one of your mates from school, isn't it?"

"I'm not exactly sure what I should call him," Snape said suddenly. He was glaring at the ground and sounded as though he had completely lost himself in thought and had forgotten that Hermione was there at all.

"Why wouldn't you be the one that is put in charge of him?"

"It's vital that I'm not the first one he meets. Bad things happen to most wizards who mess with time."

"I suppose," Hermione said, frowning. "Why me, though? McGonagall said you requested that I be the one to have this job."

Snape froze, still leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Only his chest moved with each breath he took. He remained that way for a few minutes. "Miss Granger," he said softly after a while, "I'm through answering questions. You will learn the answers soon enough." With that, he uncrossed his arms and began walking down the hall, his footsteps echoing through the empty corridor and his robes swirling around him.

Hermione sat against the wall where her professor had just been standing and sighed. She supposed she had a few more minutes and shut her eyes, willing her brain to stop thinking for just a moment.

Before she knew it, she was woken up again by a strange sounding crash. Her eyes opened and she squinted to try and see what was going on in the dark hallway.

A young man was crouched in the middle of the corridor just in front of her. He was rubbing the back of his head with his hand and grumbling lowly.

Hermione gasped quietly. She knew that voice.

The wizard froze and stood. Black Hogwarts robes twisted around him and straight black hair that fell to his shoulders swished around his face as he turned sharply and faced her.

Hermione's eyes widened. She knew exactly who this was. Slytherin robes, sharp black eyes, long fingers, a thin mouth that was pulled down in a frown, and, of course, the nose that she would recognize anywhere.

The newcomer stepped towards her cautiously. She held out a hand to him. "I'm Hermione Granger," she said softly. "I was sent here to help you."

"I doubt I need any help," he grumbled in a low, baritone voice. Even as a young boy, he was snarky, Hermione mused. In a movement that shocked Hermione, he reached forward and took her hand in his, shaking it. "But thank you, nonetheless."

Hermione nodded to him as he released her hand. "My I ask your name?" she asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"I'm Snape. Severus Tobias Snape."

* * *

DUN DUN DUN! And so there you have it! The most predictable ending to a chapter you will ever see! :P

Please review and let me know what you think so far! Review and ask me questions! Review and let me know what you think is going to happen next! Review and tell me your theories!

Why Snape? Is he really as powerful as Dumbldore thinks? What's the real reason that Professor Snape asked Hermione to be the one to meet him? What's going to happen next? Add this story to your alerts and you can find out the answers to all of these questions and more. :D

Thanks for reading!

-Rayne


	4. Introductions and Inventions

Wow, I'm on a serious roll here. Moving is done, and the time that I'm not spending job hunting, I'm spending writing. Therefore, I present to you chapter four!

Thank you so much to everyone who has read this story, and an extra hug to everyone who has followed this story or reviewed it! I can't believe how many of you are following it! It makes me so incredibly happy! :D

I loved hearing what you guys thought about what was going on last chapter! Still, nobody was able to correctly identify the Tim Burton reference! The answer is that in chapter two, I used the ingredients Worm's Wart and Frog's Breath in Hermione's potions. Sally adds these ingredients to the professors soup in Nightmare Before Christmas to cover up the scent of the Deadly Night Shade!

I don't own HP. I wish I did. But unfortunately, this is not a wish that can ever be granted. Because HP already belongs to JKR. I also dont have a beta. I'm sure you know the spiel by now. If you see any mistakes, PM or review, blah, blah, blah, I'll feix them, blah blah blah. Thanks much. :)

Here's the next chapter! Allons-y!

-Rayne

P.S. Thank you to harmswife for pointing out a few mistakes in this chapter! All fixed. :)

* * *

"Severus Tobias Snape," Hermione repeated, a forced smile on her face. "It's very nice to meet you."

"I suppose it's nice to meet you, too," he answered, a small smile appearing on his thin lips. Not a smirk, but an honest smile.

He looked so much _younger_ than the Snape she knew. She supposed that made sense, seeing as though he was in fact nearly twenty years younger. His eyes had the mischievous glint of life and curiosity that had long since disappeared from her professor's gaze. There were no wrinkles on his brow from years of furrowing it in frustration, no natural pull that turned his lips down. His hair was just as long but wasn't as greasy.

Some things were the same, though. His voice was just as gravelly, his hands just as sure, his eyes just as criticizing, and his stance just as confident. This was definitely still Snape.

His smile widened slightly as he noticed her surveying him. "See something you like?" he teased.

Hermione's eyes widened. He had just teased her. It could even be considered as _flirting._ Her professor was flirting with her.

Upon seeing her shocked face, he laughed.

It wasn't the humorless chuckle, or the dark laugh she'd heard only an hour before. This was an honest and much lighter sound. His smile widened to show white teeth. His cheeks flushed slight. He was embarrassed, she realized.

"Sorry," he said, still smiling. "I don't usually do that sort of thing. My friend is usually the charmer. That's not me."

Hermione smiled slightly. "I know exactly what you mean," she answered, thinking of Ginny.

They were silent for a moment longer. Hermione studied him shamelessly, eyes scanning his face and moving across his shoulders, down his chest, following his arms, watching his hands. He wasn't handsome or particularly good-looking. His face was thin and sallow, his teeth were slightly crooked, his nose was obnoxiously large. But despite all that, he wasn't entirely difficult to look at. His smile was charming, his eyes bright and alert. He had broad shoulders and long limbs and would undoubtedly be another six inches taller within the next few years. He was well built, as well, as though he were an athlete. Hermione vaguely remembered her professor refereeing a game of Quidditch a few years back and wondered if that's what he played.

"Quidditch?" she asked out loud.

He nodded slightly. "Yeah, I'm a beater for the Slytherin team." He paused a moment longer before inquiring, "What is the year, exactly?"

"October of 1998," she answered.

He froze, much like the way her professor had before at the mention of his request. His eyes widened as he watched her. She could practically see the thoughts spinning through his head.

"1998?" he asked softly. "Shite."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I went forward in time," he growled. "I was supposed to go backwards. Like a Time Turner. Not forwards. This is bad."

"Can't you just use a Time Turner to get back?"

"No," he said. "The potion was designed to make it so that I'm immune to all kinds of time travel now. I didn't want to find a way back. That was the point in leaving in the first place."

"Oh," she said, feeling a little overwhelmed with how perfectly this whole thing had been plotted out.

At least she knew how Snape knew the time and the place that he would be appearing. And it would explain why Snape knew so much about the stranger. Still, though, so many more of her questions had been left unanswered.

"Do you know me? Am I still alive in this time?"

Hermione paused a moment before nodding. "Yes, I know you. You're my potions professor."

"Merlin," he groaned. "Fuck. Not only am I still alive, but I'm still living in this blasted castle? Shite. I've really screwed myself over."

"Why do you say that?"

"Bad things happen to most wizards who meddle with time," he said, repeating the words of her professor exactly.

"Yes, well, you aren't most wizards, are you, Severus?" she asked.

He looked up at her. "What do you mean?" he asked defensively.

"You're powerful," she responded softly. "More powerful than any other wizard you've ever met. Isn't that right?"

"How do you know all of this? That's a secret. Nobody knows that."

"I know you, remember?"

He frowned and took a step closer to her. "Just who are you? Who are you to me, I mean? How do you know my secret?"

"You told me," she explained. "Well, sort of. You told Dumbledore, who told me. With your permission of course. I'm your student, by the way. Well, the future you, anyway. I'm the only one who knows you're here. Besides Dumbledore and yourself, of course."

He looked amused. "You talk too much," he noted.

Hermione huffed. "You tell me that all the bloody time."

He smiled again. "Of course I do. I usually don't like people who talk too much."

"So you're friends back home never talked as much as me?"

The smile on his face immediately disappeared. "I don't want to talk about my past," he snapped.

Hermione frowned. This was the Snape she knew.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I won't bring it up again."

He gave her a curious look. "You're a strange young woman."

"How do you mean?"

"You don't pry."

"I try not to," she said with a smile. "I'm supposed to take you to the Room of Requirement for the time. There should be a room there for you to stay in."

"You know where that is?" he asked, frowning.

"Of course." They started down the corridor, walking side by side. "A friend of mine found it our fifth year. We used it to practice DADA when we had a bad teacher."

"How old are you?" he asked suddenly.

"Nineteen," she answered, flushing. "I was a year older than my class, and then skipped my seventh year. I've returned to take it again."

"Why did you skip your last year?"

"I'd rather not talk about that."

"Okay. So no discussion of our pasts for the time being."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"I'm seventeen. I was in my seventh year. I was a Slytherin, obviously."

"I thought we said nothing about our pasts?" she asked.

He smiled. "These are important things that you need to know about me if you are going to be spending time with me. I happen to be in a good mood right now, so enjoy it while it lasts. I'm warning you that I'm not always this easy to deal with."

"I know," she answered with a grin. "I can handle you, though."

He grinned down at her. "I'd like to find out if that's really true," he said with a wink.

Hermione flushed. "I'm in Gryffindor. I hope you don't mind."

He snorted. "I've had bad experiences with Gryffindors. But you are different; you don't seem too bad. I'm a half blood. The only one in Slytherin. They don't know that, though."

"Muggle born," she said softly. She turned to him to gage his reaction. He cringed. "I'm sorry if you don't want to deal with a Muggle born."

He shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to react that way. It's just that – well, honestly, blood status doesn't matter to me. We'll just leave it at that."

Hermione frowned but let it be. "Thank you," she said. "I've never met a Slytherin who didn't care about blood status."

"Like you said, I'm not like most wizards," he said, smiling softly. It didn't reach his eyes, though. He was thinking about something.

They continued on in silence. When they reached the Room of Requirement, the doors appeared. Severus pushed them open. "Thanks, Hermione," he said.

Her body trilled at the sound of her name in his silky voice. "You're very welcome. Wait here. I'll be back in a couple of hours. I need to go talk to you and Dumbledore."

"Alright," he said with a nod. She was pleased that he didn't ask any questions. "See you in a bit, then."

He gently shut the door and once again, Hermione was left alone with her thoughts.

* * *

"What the bloody hell?" she snarled as soon as she walked into Dumbledore's office.

"I told you she'd take it well," Snape grumbled. He was seated in the same seat he had been before.

"You!" she yelled at him, pointing an accusing finger. "I just met you! I just met my bloody potions professor! Except that he's _younger_ than me! He is from the past! Care to explain yourself? You _flirted _with me!"

Snape flinched at the word flirted. Dumbledore chuckled. "I apologize if I did something you didn't approve of, Miss Granger, but I'm afraid I'm not exactly in charge of my actions."

"Did I say I didn't approve?" she mumbled before she could stop herself.

Snape gaped up at her. "Excuse me?" he asked. She blushed, realizing he probably knew exactly what she had said.

"Miss Granger, please take a seat. We apologize, but we weren't sure if you would be willing to do this if you knew who it was that you'd be watching."

"Second most powerful wizard? Really?" she asked, more in awe than anything. She glanced at Snape.

"Don't," he muttered, grimacing and closing his eyes. "Please, don't."

"It's true, Miss Granger. It's hard for him, though. We really can't answer those questions. They will be answered in time."

"That's all I've been bloody told since this whole things started! You have answered none of my questions! Severus did, Snape did, but no, why would I get any answers from the man who orchestrated this whole thing?"

"He did no such thing," Snape snapped. "If you have any questions, he can't answer them. It's not him who was taken forward in time, was it?"

"So it happened to you too."

"Of course."

Hermione thought for a moment. She stared at the wizened and aged wizard before her. He was in her time, but years older than the Snape currently residing in the Room of Requirement. "We find a way to send you back."

"Unfortunately," he grumbled, looking away from her again.

Hermione frowned. "Can you not stay?"

"He cannot stay, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said. "We must find a way to get him back."

"Do you know how to send yourself back? It should be easy if you've already done it, right?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Snape said.

"Why not?"

"You and I are the ones who created the potion to send me back, Miss Granger. The me that you've just met won't be there to help us."

"So basically you didn't think to ask about the potion in case it happened again when you were older."

Snape furrowed his brow and stared at the floor again. "I was a bit preoccupied. I didn't exactly have the time to wonder about what my older self and his apprentice were doing."

"You're saying we have to create a potion and we have no idea where to even begin."

"I'm saying, Miss Granger, that two brilliant minds need to come together and invent this new potion before my timeline is destroyed and history rewrites itself. It is vital that we complete this and do it in a timely manner. The lives of witches and wizards all over the world depend on the two of us in this time of need. If we aren't successful, the world you know today won't have ever existed."

* * *

OOOH so here's a bit of a twist I bet hardly any of you saw coming! Hermione and Professor Snape have to work together to create a potion? Uh oh, I have a feeling that it isn't going to turn out well for them.

What do you think? Will Snape and Hermione be able to stand working with each other long enough to create this potion? How does the younger Severus fit into all of this? Why doesn't the older Severus like to talk about just how much power he has? Why does the younger Severus feel the need to hide it? Review and tell me what you think!

Thanks a bunch for reading, lovelies!

-Rayne


	5. Backstories and Brains

I'm back! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update... I've been a bit busy with the holiday season and the new roomates. But here it is!

I still don't own HP. :(

I have a beta now! Thanks to harmswife for looking this over for me!

Allons-y!

-Rayne

* * *

Hermione didn't quite know how to react. So she began to laugh.

Snape and Dumbledore only watched her.

"You're kidding me, right?" she asked, her smile falling.

"I'm afraid I'm being very serious," Snape said. "If I don't get sent back, certain things will happen and certain things will not happen and the wizarding world will be sent into a civil war much, much worse than the one we have just survived."

"How do you mean?" Hermione asked.

Snape sighed and turned to Dumbledore. "Do you mind? You already know, and I don't need your objections while I explain this."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Of course, my boy." With that, the ancient professor rose and exited his office, leaving Hermione alone with Snape.

Snape fidgeted. His hands were clasped together and he was leaning forward, his arms resting against his knees. He kept playing with his fingers and his gaze was trained on his shoes. Hermione noticed that one was untied. He didn't bother retie it. It was obvious that the man was uncomfortable having this conversation.

"What do you need to tell me?" Hermione asked softly. "You don't have to tell me everything, just what I need to hear."

"That's the problem," Snape snapped. "You need to know all of it."

Hermione nodded and leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over her knee. She waited for him to begin. After a few minutes of silence, he did.

"My younger self cannot be told these things. Do you understand?"

"Of course."

He nodded, satisfied with her answer. She was surprised at how easily he seemed to trust her. That's when it dawned on her. He _knew_ her. When he was younger, he'd gone forward in time and met her. He'd known her long before she started going to school. When he was her age, he'd known her as Hermione. She suddenly felt rather uncomfortable, unsure of whether to bring this subject up or let it be. She decided on the latter when he began his story.

"I'm a Death Eater," he said slowly. She nodded; she'd already known that. "I didn't join by force, though. When my parents died, I was sent to live with the Malfoy's. Abraxas, Lucius' father, was a very strict man and a devout believer in blood purity. Lucius joined the Death Eaters. Soon after he did, his father forced me to either take the mark or move out of his house. Unfortunately, I had nowhere else to go at the time. So I took the mark. I was eighteen at the time.

"It was made to seem as though I had done it by choice. I didn't care what other people thought; I'd long since stopped caring. Not since – " He paused, took a deep breath, and continued. "I was forced to do the Dark Lord's bidding for many years. I was the one who took the prophecy about Potter to the Dark Lord, not knowing that it would be the reason Lily and James died.

"After that, I came to Dumbledore, begging him for the help I knew that only he could provide me. He allowed me to take up the position as Potions Master here at the castle, as long as I spied for him. During my years as a spy, I was able to give plenty of information to Dumbledore, and was also able to give false information to the Dark Lord."

"You saved so many lives," Hermione breathed. She watched him with wonder. She knew he was a war hero, but this was so far beyond that.

He shook his head. "Hardly. Dumbledore and the Order saved many lives. I was just the tool Dumbledore used to get the information he had no other way of procuring."

Hermione shook her head. "That's not true. You could have chosen to not give him the information. You wanted them to be saved, so you gave it to him. You're the reason they lived."

Snape smiled weakly. "I'm glad someone sees it that way. Even if the rest of the world doesn't." Hermione didn't respond to that, so he continued talking. "Basically, if I don't go back none of those lives will be saved. Without them and the false information I was able to give the Dark Lord, I'm not sure what the outcome of the war would be."

"You're the reason we won."

Snape scoffed at this. "You give me much too much credit."

"That's why you need to be sent back, though. You said it yourself. Without you there, who knows what the world would be like?"

"I'm not the reason we won the war," Snape growled at her. "But a person disappearing from history, no matter how significant, can completely alter history."

Hermione thought for a moment. "I understand," she said finally. "So how do we begin?"

"I'm not sure yet," he said. "I'll sleep on it tonight, though. I will speak to you tomorrow."

"Alright," Hermione agreed. "Sleep well, Professor."

He rose and started walking out of the room. He paused half way to the door. With a surprisingly soft voice, he said, "Thank you. You too, Hermione."

He left. His voice lingered in the room, her name floated softly to her ears and she smiled.

She was starting to understand what was going on.

She rose, as well, and began to make her way to the Room of Requirement. As she walked, she sifted through her thoughts and separated the questions that needed answering from the questions she already had the answers to.

Snape had requested it be her because he had remembered that it was her who had been sent to meet him after his accident. Why it had been her in the first place, she wasn't sure. Her head spun with the realization that this might very well be the thousandth time that he had been sent forward. Time kept moving, no matter what era it was. The younger Snape kept getting older, and a new young Snape kept finding himself in the future. Her mind only just managed to grasp this idea.

Snape also either no longer held the power that Severus seemed to have (she had, by this point in time, decided that calling the older Snape "Snape" and the younger one "Severus" would help to manage her thoughts.) or refused to acknowledge its existence. She wasn't yet sure how or why, but the way that Snape avoided the topic made her think that it had to be one or the other. Either way, it seemed that he missed using it. Which was strange, considering that Severus tried to hide it completely.

With two more of her questions answered, Hermione was greeted by the door to the Room of Requirement. She knocked on it softly.

A second later, it swung open. "Come in, Hermione," Severus called from the other side of the room. He was hunched over a cauldron, gently stirring it. "I'm guessing you just got back from speaking with Dumbledore and myself?"

Hermione nodded even though his back was to her. "Yes."

He turned to face her, frowning. "How much can you tell me?"

"Only that Professor Snape and I are going to be trying to create a potion to send you back to where you belong."

Severus nodded in understanding. "I thought that would be the case," he said. "Well, if you're working with an older version of me, you'll probably find a way pretty quickly. I am, after all, pretty good with potions." His voice had a teasing lilt to it, but his face remained passive.

Hermione nodded. "I'm not too bad myself," she said.

"Let me guess. Top of your class. Straight O's. Absolutely brilliant."

Hermione blushed. "I wouldn't call myself brilliant. But yes, I am top of the class."

Severus nodded and took a few steps closer, motioning to the small couch in a corner of the room. Hermione sat. Severus sat beside her, crossing his ankle over his knee. "I figured. The older me would know that I'd only put up with someone who was at least almost as smart as myself."

"Merlin, you're full of yourself, aren't you?"

He smirked. "Not without reason, though. I may not have the looks, but I definitely have the brains."

"And the magical power."

Severus scowled and nodded. "I suppose."

"What exactly are you capable of?" Hermione asked, unable to keep her curiosity at bay.

"Enough," Severus answered, obviously uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had taken. "I don't really like to discuss it though."

"Why? You act as though you're ashamed of it."

"Just drop it. Please," he snapped, making her cringe and think of her professor.

"Alright. Sorry."

He sighed. "It's alright. Just… I'd prefer it if we not talk about that."

"Right, of course, sorry," Hermione mumbled, inwardly scolding herself for pushing the matter.

"If you don't mind, actually, I'm rather tired. I think I'm going to turn in."

"Yes, you must be exhausted," she said with a small smile. She stood up and reached her hand out to him. He tentatively took it and shook it with a slight nod. "I will see you tomorrow before breakfast," she told him.

"Alright," he agreed. "See you then, I guess."

Hermione took no time in getting to the door and showing herself out, allowing the door to shut behind her.

* * *

Woot! And so there it is! Snape's story! We are still left wondering, why are both the Snapes so hesitant to discuss their magical prowess? How on earth does Hermione keep missing the compliments that Snape is giving her? When is our favorite redhead going to return with her many questions?

All this and more! Stay tuned!

Thanks for the reviews. I'd love some more! :3

-Rayne


	6. Hellos and Hats

OMG! IT'S CHAPTER SIX! Yay!

I am unfortunately the bearer of bad news. First, let me say, that **I am not abdandoning this story.** I have every intention to finish it! I just am having to put it on hold for a little while. I'm losing access to my computer for a while. It might be a week, it might be a few months. I don't know. I have plans to go to the library and write and post as often as I can. I promise to get back to this story as soon as I can! Like I said before, I'm not abandoning it.

In other news, my most recent manuscript is finished! I was up until the odd hours of the morning finishing it! My last four have been flops. But I have high hopes for this one! So keep looking for my name in the bookstores near you! Rayne C.B. might very soon be on the cover of a book! Woot!

Thanks so much to my beta, harmswife, for looking this over for me and helping me out!

I still don't own HP. (insert sad face here)

Hang in there for me, my dear readers, and I shall be back before you know it!

Allons-y!

-Rayne

* * *

"Where the _hell_ have you been?" Ginny asked the moment Hermione stepped into the Common Room. Ginny, noticing that Hermione wasn't in bed, had apparently come back downstairs to wait up for her friend. "It's _two_ in the morning and you are _just_ getting back in! This isn't like you, Hermione. Spill."

Hermione sighed and motioned to the couch. When both girls had seated themselves, Hermione looked at Ginny and said without hesitation, "I've been with Snape."

Ginny frowned. "Right. Your extra lessons began today. But at midnight? You snuck out! I watched you climb into bed. I woke up again at midnight and you were _gone_."

"Yes, at midnight. I actually had to leave at ten."

"That's past curfew."

"I suppose it is."

"Snape is notorious for being the one that never lets a student off the hook if they are caught out after midnight."

"Snape never lets a student off the hook," Hermione pointed out.

"That's not helping your excuse. That's only helping my argument," Ginny said, grinning mischievously at her friend. "So what were you and Snape doing, alone, in the Potions classroom, after curfew?"

"Ginerva Weasley!" Hermione snapped quietly. "I thought I told you! It's nothing like that, I promise! There is nothing going on between Snape and I!"

Ginny frowned. "You know you don't have to keep any secrets from me, right?" she asked softly. "Because I wouldn't tell anyone, even if you were sleeping with a professor."

"I'm not, Gin," Hermione said.

"Then tell me what's really going on!"

Hermione paused. She trusted Ginny. She trusted Ginny more than she trusted Harry and Ron. She knew that Ginny wouldn't tell. She was good at that; keeping secrets and acting as though she didn't know what was going on. She could tell Ginny everything. It might even be good for her to get it all off of her chest.

But she couldn't. She was supposed to be keeping this a secret. "Extra lessons with Snape."

Ginny grinned. "You're totally doing Snape."

"Gin!"

"Don't worry," Ginny said, giggling. "I won't tell." She paused. "How is he?"

"I wouldn't know, Gin," Hermione grumbled.

"Fine, don't tell me."

"There's nothing to tell."

"You will tell me, though, won't you? What's going on, I mean." Ginny frowned as the conversation took a much more serious turn.

Hermine sighed. "I will tell you what I can, when I can. I promise, Gin."

"Alright," she said with a nod. "Thank you. Now then. Up to bed with you!

* * *

Hermione woke up an hour before Ginny and the rest of the girls were and made her way to the Room of Requirement. She tapped on the door when it appeared and once again, it opened and Hermione saw that no one had opened it.

Severus was already up as well. Hermione stuttered and blushed when her eyes finally found him.

He was sitting in an arm chair by the fire. One of his legs was slung over the arm of the chair and a book was open in his lap. He was clad in a pair of black pants, but his feet and chest were bare.

"Sorry," Hermione muttered.

He glanced up, obviously not concerned about his state of dress. He nodded to her, putting his bookmark in the book and setting it on the table beside him. He stood and stretched his arms over his head. "Morning," he mumbled. "You wouldn't happen to know where I could find myself some coffee?"

"Coffee?" Hermione repeated, unable to keep her eyes trained on his face. Her thoughts began to wander for a moment. He might not have been the most attractive man to look at, but oh Merlin, was he fit, she decided. He was a beater, after all. He wasn't overwhelmingly muscled like Viktor had been, but she had never really found that attractive in the first place. She watched the muscles of his stomach and chest stretch and flex as he moved.

He reached out and grabbed the book off the table, starting for the wardrobe against the wall by the bed. He left the book on the foot of the bed and opened the doors. "…never was much of a tea drinker," she realized he was saying.

He pulled out a Slytherin green button up and pulled it on. "Sorry," he muttered to her, as though only now realizing he had been conversing with her without a shirt on. "Guess I'm so used to a room without girls that I forgot my manners."

"I'm used to it," she said. "I spent almost an entire year in a cramped tent with two boys my age."

"A year?" he asked. "What on earth were you doing living in a tent for a year?"

"It's in the past," Hermione said with a soft smile. "I was just using it as the reason that I don't mind."

He winked at her. "Of course you don't mind. They never do."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. The absurdity of the situation was getting to her.

"What?" he frowned, and, having finished buttoning his shirt, reached in for a pair of socks and trainers.

"Sorry," she managed, clutching at her sides. "It's just that, well, seeing you wink and flirt."

"Why is that funny?" He cocked his head to one side, clearly trying to decide whether or not to be offended.

"Well, it makes me realize that you are the snarky man who is my potions professor. And you wink and flirt and laugh and smile. It's just strange."

"I'm very sorry," he said sarcastically. "Should I stop? Maybe that would help keep your sanity intact."

"Oh, no, I'm sorry," she said honestly. "I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that it will take a bit of getting used to."

He smiled. "Honestly, it will for me, too. I suppose you could say that I'm not very good at this kind of thing."

"I wouldn't say that," Hermione mumbled. He didn't hear her.

"Come on," he said once his shoes were on. "I'm starved."

"I suppose we could go to the kitchens. No one is awake yet."

Severus grinned and shook his head. He opened the door and motioned Hermione out.

Dumbledore, though, was already in the doorway.

"Good morning, Miss Granger. You didn't spend the whole night in here, did you?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Hermione flushed. "No, sir."

"She begged me to let her stay, sir," Severus said with a straight face. "I had to force her to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room."

"What?" Hermione immediately protested.

Dumbledore only smiled. "Severus, my boy," he said warmly.

Hermione watched with shock as Severus grinned and embraced the old man. "Good to see a familiar face. It's also good to see you haven't changed a bit, old man," Severus teased.

"You haven't either, I see," Dumbledore mused. "Other than de-aging twenty years, I'm afraid."

Severus just shrugged. "We were about to head to the kitchens for some food. Is that alright?"

"That's just fine," Dumbledore said. "In fact, I have been thinking that maybe you should be resorted and take classes like the rest of the students here," he mused. "I think it might not be good for you to be cooped up in the Room of Requirement."

Severus grinned. "Sounds fine to me," he said. "I'm dying to know what the new Slytherin Common Room looks like."

Dumbledore hummed. "Perhaps you may get to, my boy."

"Headmaster, I'm afraid that the Granger girl isn't –"

Everyone froze and turned in the direction of the new voice.

"Holy shite," two nearly identical voices said at the same time.

"That's _me_?" Severus asked, staring at Professor Snape.

Professor Snape just stood there in the middle of the corridor, gaping like a fish at the younger Slytherin.

"I really end up looking like _that_?"

Professor Snape seemed to snap out of his thoughts. "I don't recall my younger self being so… annoying."

Severus huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Annoying? Hardly."

"There you are, Miss Granger," Snape muttered, glaring past his younger self and at poor Hermione, who had been trying to hide behind Severus. "Spent the night with our guest, did you?"

Hermione frowned. "No, actually, I didn't," she said. She stepped forward and approached Snape. She even dared to put a hand on his arm. "I'm helping him. I came earlier this morning to make sure he was alright."

Snape frowned. He didn't answer. He brushed her hand off of his arm and pointed to Severus. "You, boy, go with Dumbledore."

"Don't call me _boy_," Severus grumbled. "You know me, and you ought to know how much I _loathe_ that."

"Shall I call you 'Russ' instead?" Snape asked with a sneer. If Hermione didn't know better, she would have guessed he was teasing Severus.

Severus groaned and rubbed at his eyes with a hand. "That's even worse," he muttered. "Nobody can call me Russ but –"

"Lily Evans," Snape finished for him. "I know."

"Does that mean I can't call you Russ, then?" Hermione asked Severus without really realizing that she was saying it.

Snape and Severus both stared at her. Snape was frowning; Severus winked again. "You can call me whatever you want, beautiful."

She knew he was just trying to get to Snape, who had now pinched the bridge of his nose and pointed down the hall, but that didn't keep her from blushing at his comment. "I'll see you in a second, Severus," she mumbled as Dumbledore gripped Severus' arm and led him down the hall.

As soon as Dumbledore and Severus were out of ears reach, Snape groaned and hit his fist against the door of the Room of Requirement, startling Hermione.

"Sir?" she asked cautiously.

She was shocked to see he was smiling. "Oh, to be young again," he mused. They started down the hall after the other two. "I was never like that as a teen."

"You've already explained that," Hermione said with a laugh. "You've said it a couple times, actually. That you were never talkative around people. You seem to actually be one of the more socially awkward type."

"I told you that?"

"Well, Severus did, anyway," Hermione explained.

"Severus?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione felt her face flush again. "Well, yes. It's makes it easier to tell you two apart in my head. Severus and Professor Snape."

They walked in silence for a while.

"Bad things happen to wizards who mess with time," Snape said again.

Hermione glanced up at him. She could tell he was worried. "Yes, well," she found herself saying again, "you aren't most wizards, are you?"

Snape stopped walking. "Merlin, Hermione," he breathed, staring at the floor.

Hermione heard him mutter her name. She turned and faced him. "What did you say?" she asked.

"You've said that to me before, haven't you," he stated rather than asked.

"I – well – yes, I suppose I have," she said.

He nodded, obviously lost in his thoughts and memories. "That was a long time ago, though."

"That was just last night," Hermione told him. "I just told you that last night."

Snape shook his head. "So much has happened, though," he said. "You said… and I… I didn't pay attention to that, I was too focused on how you knew. I didn't realize you were… but for some reason, it stuck."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"You meant to calm me down and comfort me."

"You told me yourself to treat our guest as I would my friends," Hermione reminded him.

"It's starting to fall into place," he thought outloud.

"Will we really get on that well?" Hermione asked. "You said we would. We get along, sure, but not… what was the word you used? Oh, famously."

"You won't always get along. But for the most part, yes, you will… I mean, we will get along just fine." Hermione nodded. Snape clasped his hands behind him. "Come on," he said, starting down the hall once more. He still seemed to be thinking. "The Headmaster will be expecting us."

"Right," Hermione said, trailing behind him. "Sir," she inquired as they walked, "you called me Hermione."

"Did I?" he asked. "Slip of the tongue, I suppose."

"You call me Hermione now. Severus does, I mean. What was it like? Seeing me again, after all that time."

Snape sighed. "One day, I might just tell you," he answered. "But until then, you need to figure things out for yourself."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, each musing their own thoughts and memories and hopes and questions.

* * *

"Have a seat, Miss Granger."

Severus was already seated in the chair that Snape had been sitting in before. Snape stood between the two with a frown on his face.

"Now then. We shall need to sort Mister Snape again."

"Why must I be sorted again?"

"You are now considered a new student at Hogwarts, since you have not been here in two decades. All new students must be sorted, of course."

"We all already know I'll be sorted into Slytherin again," Severus grumbled.

"How do you know for sure, though?" Snape muttered.

Severus didn't answer.

Dumbledore retrieved the Sorting Hat from its shelf and brought it to Severus. He placed it gently on his head.

It sat on his head for a very long time. It must have been around ten minutes, Hermione thought, before it opened its mouth.

"Gryffindor!"

* * *

I will said it one more time for those of you who didn't read the A/N at the beginning. **I am not abandoming this story.** I am just putting it on hold for a little while. :(

I will miss you guys and miss writing for you guys! Thanks so much for the reviews and other responses I've had to this story! I'm thrilled that you guys are ejoying this so much! I love writing it! :)

I promise that I'll be back as soon as I can. :)

Thanks for reading!

-Rayne


	7. Excuses and Explanations

I'm back! For a little while, at least. I have a friend who is lending me a laptop for a little while and I can connect to the wi-fi at Starbucks or the library or somesuch place. :P Anyway, it feels really good to have the keys of the keyboard clicking under my fingers again. I'm afraid the computer I am using right now is a little slow, and it doesn't have a word processor on it, so I'm typing this all out on a note, so forive me for any mistakes I make.

I'm warning you now also that I'm posting this without sending it to my beta, harmswife. I just sent it, so I'll post the rivised version when it gets back to me. :P If that makes sense, anyway. I just figured that in case I don't get the chance to post it in the next week that you guys would want to read it now.

Anyway, I'm babbling when I could be posting.

I'm proud to present the next chapter!

Allons-y!

-Rayne

* * *

"Gryffindor?" Hermione asked quietly as soon as the hat fell silent. "Really?"

Neither Snape nor Severus reacted. Hermione supposed that it made sense that Snape didn't; he'd been through this already. The fact that Severus didn't react, though, confused her. She thought that he would for sure be the type of Slytherin who would die before being resorted, and into his enemy house, nonetheless. But he remained calm, looking at Dumbledore expectantly.

"That would seem to be the case, wouldn't it, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore said. There was a twinkle in his eyes. He was amused.

Hermione sputtered and glanced quickly between her professor and the newcomer beneath the hat. Severus reached up"Id and nanchalantly took the Sorting Hat off, setting it on Dumbledore's desk. "I think this means I need new robes, doesn't it?" he asked. Hermione couldn't believe that he wasn't saying anything against his new placement. She shut her mouth, deciding that if he couldn't find a reason to react badly, she shouldn't either.

"I think you will find that the Room of Requirement has already taken care of that for you, Mr. Snape," Dumbledore said. "Miss Granger, later, would you mind showing him to the tower?"

"Of course," Hermione said, swallowing down any other comments that came to mind.

"Thank you," Severus said, turning and smiling at her.

Behind her, Snape cleared his throat. "Dumbledore," he said, frowning. "I think a cover story is needed. I don't think the students should know what's really going on."

"Of course not," Dukmbledore said softly, scratching the end of his crooked nose thoughtfully. "I think that we shall find our answer in 'Russ'."

Severus' frown matched Snape's almost perfectly. "Excuse me?"

"Russell Snape," Dumnbledore said, smiling. "Russell Snape is Severus' brother's son."

"I don't have a brother," Severus pointed out.

"But they don't know that," Snape answered immediately. "And if I recall correctly, nobody ever questions it or thinks twice about it."

"If you recall correctly?" Severus repeated.

"He's already been through this, remember?" Hermione said. "He remembers because for him, this has already happened."

"It's a lot to comprehend," DUmbledore said, almost conversationally.

"Not particularly," Severus said, smiling. "I think it's harder to remember than to comprehend, old man."

Dumbledore smiled good-naturedly. Snape grimaced.

"I'd forgotten about that," he grumbled to himself.

Hermione doubted she was supposed to hear but responded to the statement instinctively. "Forgotten about what?"

Snape shook his head at her. She supposed that was his way of saying he'd tell her later. She hoped that was the case, anyway.

Dumbledore was glancing between them with a smile that made Hermione feel as though he knew something she didn't. Snape's scowl softened slightly when he met the old wizard's gaze.

"Well then," Dumbledore said loudly, clapping his hands together. "Now that we've determined what Severus' name and relation to Professor Snape is, we should come up with a backstory, as well."

"Is that entirely necessary?" Severus asked with a groan. "That's not the sort of thing people will want to know."

"It's exactly the sort of thing people will want to konw," Hermione answered, thinking immediately of Ginny. If Severus would be Russell in front of the school, there was no longer going to be any reason for her to be sneaking around her best friend. She smiled at the thought of Ginny's face when she finally learned what had been going on.

"Alright," Severus said, rolling his eyes. "So, I am a transfer student from Durmstrang. My parents got into an argument with the school board and they decided it would be better if I started going to a different school. They knew Uncle Severus was working here at Hogwarts, so they decided to send me here. It was too expensive to move, so they sent me off and stayed behind. Hermione could even write me letters and sign them from my mother, if we really want to go to that sort of extreme."

Three pairs of eyes were immediately trained on him. Two watched him with shock, and another with indifference. Hermione frowned. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Snape, who had been watching the other two react with surprise, scoffed. "It's not exactly difficult," he said slowly. "It's quite simple to come up with an easy story like that. It's also a rather clever and believable one, at that."

Severus smirked and nodded to his older self in a silent thanks for what could very well be considered a compliment from Snape. "My parents would do that," he said. "Decide to send me to a new school because they don't agree with my old one's board. And then send me without moving with me. Besides, that gives me a reason to stay here at Hogwarts during the breaks."

Dumbledore seemed to consider all of this for a moment. "Yes, I do believe that this story will work," he said, sounding very proud, as though he himself had thought of this wonderfully genius plan. "It's is in fact very believable. I think that even the worst of the gossips here will believe that. I believe Miss Weasley will, as well."

Hermione smile sheepishly. "Good, because she's got two options that she's been considering. Either that I'm lying to her or that I'm sleeping with the professor."

Snape's eyes widened in shock. "She thinks that you and I are..." He couldn't seem to bring himself to say it outloud.

Hermione flushed, realizing that she probably could have kept that little fact to herself. "She doesn't believe it, of course," Hermione said quickly. "She just likes to tease me and that was the fastest way to get to me."

Hermione could have sworn that a slight tinge had appeared on the professor's cheeks. "Of course," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly.

Severus and Dumbledore were watching the exchange with clear amusement. One of Severus' eyebrows was arched and a slight smirk was turning his lips up. Hermione looked at him with a pleading glance as though begging him to help her out of the situation. As she watched him, his smile widened into a true grin, showing her his slightly crooked teeth. She'd seen better smiles, but for some reason, the way that his lit his face up and made him seem even younger than he actually was made her decide that his smile was her favorite. She wondered momentarily if Snape looked younger than his years when he smiled, as well. She shook herself out of her thoughts, feeling her cheeks warm even more as the red tinge to them darkened.

Severus sighed dramatically. "You? Sleeping with him?" he asked, pointing at them respectively. "Puh-lease. You're sleeping with me. That's much more believable."

Hermione spouted out the first thing that came to mind. "Well, I did tell her I was taking private lessons with Snape. I didn't ever say which Snape, though."

Both Severus and Snape gaped at her. Hermione was appalled that she had dared to say something so... out of character. Snape's lips were starting to pull down. Severus' were turning up again. "Private lessons can be arranged," he said, winking. Snape swatted the back of his head with the palm of his hand. Severus yelped and rubbed his head. "Alright, alright, if she's claimed by you already, just tell me and I'll back off! No need to get violent!"

Snape stared at him, clearly struggling with what to say.

"He and I aren't together!" Hemrione groaned, staring down at her knees. "And I really didn't mean to say that. I don't even know where that came from. That wasn't me."

Severus nodded, clearly understanding what she meant. "I know. That's been happening to me ever since I met you." He grinned and winked again. "Maybe it's a sign that we are meant for one another."

"Yes, and Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy have the hots for each other,"Hermione said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Severus clearly missed this. His eyebrows shot up. "Potter's son is gay?" he asked. "That surprises me." He spat the next few words out. "Potter is such the player."

Snape reached out, catching everyone by surprise, and rested a hand on Severus' shoulder. He squeezed gently, as though he was trying to reassure the young man. Maybe he was, Hermione realzied. Nobody understood what Severus was going through quite like Snape did. She supposed the odd gesture made sense.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't think Harry's gay. I was being sarcastic."

Severus' frown deepened. "Well I wasn't," he said. He really did look serious about what he had said. This made Hermione pause for a moment. The moment was over rather soon when Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"We can discuss destiny and relationships later," he said with a smile. "Right now, though, we should be more focused on getting to breakfast on time. I have a new student to introduce!" He sounded very excited. Hermione couldn't help but smile at the fact that something so simple as introducing another student to Hogwarts could make the old man so happy.

"Right," Severus grumbled. "Introductions. Lovely."

"Think of it this way," Hermione said. She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she reached out and put her hand over his on the armrest of the chair he was seated in. He glanced up at her, smiling warmly. "You have a chance to start completely new."

"I guess that is something to be looking forward to, isn't it?" he asked, his smile widening.

Snape hummed. Hermione couldn't tell if he was agreeing or voicing his annoyance, but he didn't say anything. Hermione looked up at him.

She was surprised to see that his eyes were trained on their hands, staring with something akin to frustration.

Dumbledore rose from behind his desk. "Shall we go down, then?" he asked, motioning to the door.

Hermione stood and nodded. "Yes, lets."

The walk down to the Great Hall was more than slightly awkward. Dumbledore would occasionally comment on something so insignificant and random that no one else felt the need to comment as well. He seemed fine with that, though, and would continue walking with a smile on his face. Snape would occasionally clear his throat. Severus and Hermione were walking beside each other in front of Snape and Dumbledore, and everytime that Snape cleared his throat or made any sort of noise, Severus would turn his head to look at the older man over his shoulder and smirk. Hermione tried to ignore it, but after the first few times, couldn't. The next time it happened, Snape sighed and before Severus could turn, Hermione reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Quit it, both of you," she scolded them. If Snape was offended by being reprimanded by a student, he didn't say anything. Severus, on the other hand, glanced down at her.

"I will when he does," he grumbled.

"He's not doing anything!" Hermione said.

Severus mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like, "he's being offensive", but Hermione dicided to ignore him, taking her hand off of his wrist.

Dumbledore, sensing the tension in the air, commented on the "unusual chill blowing through the castle". Once again, no one graced his odd little comment with a response.

Much to Hermione's relief, they made it to the Great Hall without another incident. Hermione quickly spotted Ginny, who was waving her over, and sat herself beside her readhead friend. Snape and Dumbledore started towards the Head Table. Severus fell in stride behind them, clearly unsure of what to do.

When he was spotted, a hush fell over the Great Hall. People started pointing and then the muttering began again. Hermione could hear people saying things like "He looks exactly like Snape!" and "I hope he's not just as evil". Severus was obviously hearing them as well, and turned, meeting Hermione's eyes. She smiled as warmly and encouragingly as she could. Snape gripped his arm and turned him around to face the Great Hall.

"Your attentions, please," Dumbledore said. The hall quieted again. No one was looking at DUmbledore, though. They were all too focused on the Snape look-alike beside him. "Students, I am pleased to tell you that today, we have the privilage of adding a new student to our family!" He smiled and his eyes twinkled. "You might recognize him. No, he is not Professor Snape, though they are related." Immediately, Hermione heard the word "son" being tossed around. "He is," Dumbledore continued, "Professor Snape's nephew. He has just transferred here from Durmstrang. He has already been sorted and will be joining the Gryffindors!"

This caused more ruccus than anything else had. They were believing that he wasn't Snape but was in fact his nephew, but the fact that he had been sorted into Gryffindor seemed to be a little much for the students to handle.

"Please help me in welcoming Russell Snape!"

Students began weakly clapping. Severus smiled stifly. That seemed to be enough to break the awkwardness that had fallen over the hall. People began to clap more enthusiastically now. Some Gryffindors even began to cheer. Severus looked mildly shocked. Hermione grinned at him, standing up and clapping. Ginny glanced up at her for a moment before sighing heavily and standing as well, putting two fingers in her mouth and whistling. "You," she said, jabbing a finger into Hermione's shoulder, "have some serious explaining to do."

Hermione smiled sheepishly. The hall quieted and the two girls sat back down again. Hermione glanced up to see Severus sauntering over to them. She made some room between her and the person to her other side. He smiled and muttered a thanks before sitting down. On Hermione's other side, Ginny immediately leaned forward, looking at him curiously, and grinned. "So you are the Snape she's been sneaking off to see," she said, glancing knowingly at Hermione. "You know, Mione, you could have told me the truth. You know I only suggested you were sleeping with the bat to get to you, right?"

Hermione elbowed her friend. "I know. And I'm sorry I couldn't tell you before. Dumbledore wanted his arrival to be hush hush because we weren't sure he was staying until this morning."

Severus grinned. "She was the one put in charge of me when I got here."

"Been good to you, has she?" Ginny asked.

"Hermione?" Severus asked. Ginny nodded. Hermione felt Severus' gaze fall to her. She blushed and stared down at her empty plate. Dumbledore was rambling about something else, though Hermione couldn't bring herself to listen. "Of course she has been." Severus' mouth was close enough to her that his deep, baritone voice purred into her ear and made her shiver. He seemed to realize it. Hermione felt him scoot closer to her, just barely, but close enough that their thighs were now pressed together. Ginny didn't notice.

"Good," she said, smiling. "I knew she would. No one does that quite like our Hermione."

"Our Hermione?" Severus repeated.

Ginny nodded. "She's part of the Golden Trio, of course!" Ginny said, as though Severus should know what that meant. He should have, of course, but Hermione hadn't had the chance yet to fill him in. Ginny continued. "So naturally, Harry and Ron have claims on her!" She laughed. Hermione knew she should be laughing, too, as this had been a bit of an inside joke with the four of them, but she couldn't bring herslef too. She was instead trying desperately to come up with a reason for why Severus would have no idea what she was talking about.

"I understand," Severus said, interrupting her train of thought. "And naturally, being Ron's sister, you get to claim her as well?"

Hermione gaped at him. Ginny giggled. "He knows who I am, Mione!" She nudged her friend.

Hermione shook her head and grabbed Severus' arm, standing up and pulling him with her. The food appeared on the table as they did. Ginny glanced up at Hermione, clearly confused. "We need to talk for a moment," Hermione explained.

Severus shrugged at Ginny and followed Hermione. They left the Great Hall. Hermione immediately turned to Severus. "How'd you know who Ron and Ginny were?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "I did my homework," he said. "The Room of Requrement gave me some more recent history books. It told me all about how Potter brought down the Dark Lord with the help of you and the Weasley boy. You're an incredible witch, by the way."

Hermione's mind was turning so quickly that she nearly missed yet another compliment that had been handed to her by this usually surly man. She paused her thoughts and blushed. "Thanks," she said, smiling.

He grinned at her. "The things the three of you did were truly incredible." He frowned suddenly. "I wasn't listed anywhere, though. I wasn't under the list of Death Eaters or Aurors or Order members. Why not?"

Hermione thought for a minute, not completely sure herself. It only took her a few moments more before she realized what it was. "The Room of Requrement," she said. "It must have altered the books."

"It can do that?" Severus asked. Hermione shrugged. "If it can, why would it?"

"I think that knowing your future could be dangerous to you," Hermione said. Severus frowned, but nodded that he understood.

"I suppose so," he said. "So avoid talking about my uncle."

Hermione smiled. "Exactly."

"Now then," Severus said, grinning. "I'm hungry, and breakfast had just arrived when you pulled me away so rudely."

Hermione blushed. "Sorry," she muttered.

He offered her his arm. "It's quite alright," he said. She took his arm and his smile grew. He puffed his chest out and stood a little taller. "Shall we?" he asked.

Hermione laughed. "Sure," she said.

People turned and stared at them when they re-entered the hall again, but for some reason, Hermione couldn't bring herself to care. She knew in that moment that she and Severus had formed a sort of friendship, and was both pleased and proud of herself. Ginny winked at her when they neared the table. Hermione swatted her across the back of her head. Ginny just laughed.

Hermione and Severus sat down again and immediately Severus began reaching for food. Hermione realized that he was sitting close to her again. She could feel the warmth radiating from him and allowed her to relax slightly against him. She thought he hadn't noticed, but he turned and smiled coyly at her, nudging her leg with his own.

She blushed and turned to Ginny, eager to start up a conversation. Ginny began babbling to her about Harry and how she couldn't wait for him to come back home. Hermione zoned out, thinking instead about Severus. She wasn't sure what it was, but for some reason, whenever he was around, she wasn't exactly herself. She blushed a lot more in the last day than she had in the year before that. She found herself saying things that she had never before dared to say. She knew it wasn't that she liked him; she'd liked guys before and it had always felt very different. Her heart wasn't racing around him. She didn't feel the need to be close to him when he was in the room. That just seemed to happen naturally. Besides, she thought, she'd only known him for a day.

No, this was something entirely different, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on what it was.

Ginny nudged her. She snapped out of her thoughts. Ginny pointed to the Head Table. "I think Snape is trying to get your attention," she said. "Wonder what he wants?"

Snape's eyes were on hers. Ginny was right, he was trying to get her attention. As soon as he had it, he rose from his seat, motioned to the door, and strode between the tables towards it. She rose and obediently followed. Severus glanced up as she left. "Hermione?" he called.

"I'll catch up with you later, Russ," she said. She hadn't realized she'd said it until it was too late to take back. "Sorry," she muttered. "I mean Russell."

She hurried out of the Great Hall, cheeks ablaze again.

She was in such a rush that she didn't see the dark figure standing in the hallway just beyond the doors. She ran into him with a force strong enough to send them both toppling to the ground. She was very aware of a pair of arms flying around her as they fell. Her vision went black.

* * *

Oooh! Who'd she run into? Will people truly believe the story Severus came up with? Was it really just that easy for Hermione to make friends with Severus? Or will something happen to prove that she isn't as close to him as she'd like to believe? And what's up with him acting so happy-go-lucky all of a sudden? So many questions! Tune in later for answers. :D

You guys are amazing. I am astounded every single time I post by the responses I'm getting to this story. It's amazing because you guys are amazing! Thank you so much! I'm thrilled that you are enjoying it as much as you are.

PLease keep reviewing and keep me happy! :P

Thanks for reading!

-Rayne


	8. Ferrets and Friendships

Yay! Here's chapter 8!

I am so sorry there is so much time between posts right now! I am so sorry! *insert gif of a sad tenth Doctor here* Please forgive me! And please don't give up on this story! :)

I don't own any characters that you recognize. And also, thank you to harmswife for beta-ing this story for me!

Now, onwards with the story!

Allons-y!

-Rayne

* * *

Hermione's face was buried in someone's black robes. Whoever this was had good taste, she thought as she breathed in as best as she could and smelled the expensive cologne clinging to the body. She groaned and tried to shift herself. The person she was laying on top of tried to do the same thing at the same time. Both of them froze, trying to keep the awkwardness to a minimum. Hermione lifted her head.

A pair of silver eyes stared back at her.

"Gah!" Hermione said as she ungracefully began to throw her arms around, trying her hardest to find purchase on the ground so she could lift herself up. Finally finding it, she rolled over before scrambling up and onto her feet.

The blond remained on his back on the floor, looking completely and totally shocked and uncertain of what to do. "Um," he managed. He glanced up at at Hermione and gave her a sheepish grin. "Hey."

"Get up, boy," a deep voice scolded. Hermione glanced up to see Professor Snape watching the other man with a frown. She could have sworn she caught a glint of amusement in his dark eyes.

She stared back down at the man lying on the floor. He flashed her another grin before lifting himself off of the ground with much more grace than she had. She frowned at him when he offered his hand to her. "Oh, come on, Granger," he said. "I'm not that bad anymore." Draco Malfoy reached out and took her hand from her side, shook it, and let it fall back to its place again. He smirked. "It's not everyday someone can render Granger speechless, is it, Uncle Severus?"

Snape grunted. "I've managed just fine," he said.

"What's he doing here?" Hermione asked, still trying to process the fact that Draco Malfoy was, in fact, here in the castle.

"He's here because I asked him to be," was Snape's response.

"To be quite honest," Malfoy said with a shrug, "I'm not totally sure why I'm here. I mean, I know about Severus' little... ah, predicament, shall we say." He brushed off his robes and swept his gaze over Hermione before turning back to Snape. "You look good, by the way," he said. His eyes were focused on Snape but he was obviously talking to her. She frowned. "Anyway," he continued, "I know about his problem. But I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do about it."

Snape crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm only going to say this once." He looked from Malfoy to Hermione and back again. "You two are the best potions students I've ever taught before. Therefore, I've decided I need your help."

Malfoy grinned. "You've gone soft since the war, Uncle," he said. "You just complimented me."

"He's complimented me a few times as well," Hermione said, shooting a sly smile in Malfoy's direction.

"Well duh," Malfoy answered, as though he knew why and she should have, too.

Hermione frowned. Snape glared at Malfoy. "As I was saying," he said sternly, "I need your help. Come to my office this evening, both of you. Seven should suffice. We need to get started as soon as we can."

"Get started doing what?" Malfoy asked as the doors to the Great Hall swung open.

All three of them turned to see Severus standing there, frowning. "There you are," he said to Hermione. "Ginny and I had been wondering where you'd gotten off to." He took one look at Draco and smirked. "You must be a Malfoy," he said.

"Merlin," Malfoy breathed.

"Yes, people do confuse us on a rather regular basis. Actually, it's Snape. Russell Snape."

"Liar," Malfoy snapped before smiling and a wink. "You're name isn't Russell. It's Severus, isn't it?" He turned back to his Uncle. "Merlin," he said again. "That's you? You didn't tell me you were so... is charming the word I'm looking for?" He glanced at Hermione.

"No, I think egotistical is more like it."

"You're right that charming isn't the right word. But I don't think egotistical is quite it, either." He smirked and glanced back at his uncle. "You aren't exactly a looker, but there is something about you that seems to be undeniably attractive..."

"Draco," Snape snapped.

Draco grinned wider. "Sorry," he said. He turned to Hermione and winked. "I'm sure you can't help but notice, either."

Severus had crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm still here, you know. And it's more than slightly weird to have you complimenting me like that."

Snape glared at Severus. "You need to get out of here," he said.

"But sir," Hermione said, taking a step closer to Severus. "He's you. He might be helpful as well."

"No," Snape said immediately.

"Why not?" Severus and Draco asked simultaneously.

"I'll tell you later," he said to Hermione as though it had been her who had asked the question.

Severus snorted. "Of course you will. It would make too much sense to tell yourself, wouldn't it?"

"Shut it," Snape snarled at him. "Go back to your breakfast."

Severus frowned. He approached Hermione and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You will tell me later, won't you?"

Hermione shivered as his breath brushed across her ear and neck. She shook her head. "Not if he says not to," she murmured back.

He growled softly as he stepped back. "Fine," he grumbled. "See you later, I guess."

Hermione nodded. She watched as he walked back into the Great Hall, letting the doors close behind him. She felt a pair of eyes on her and turned to Malfoy. He was staring at her with amusement. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and winked. She frowned and glared at him. "Don't say a damn thing, Malfoy."

"Oh, come on, Granger. We'll be working with each other. The least you can do is call me by my given name."

"Only if that's what you want, Ferret."

Hermione saw Snape smirk and smiled with satisfaction. "Ouch," was Malfoy's response.

"You two, seven, my office," Snape said before striding towards the dungeons, robes swirling around him.

"Not even a 'Hello, Draco' or a 'Nice to see you too, Draco'," Malfoy muttered as he watched the receding figure of the professor. He turned to Hermione and grinned. "So, what have you been up to, Hermione?" he asked. "Other than hanging around with Little Snape, I mean."

Hermione frowned. "Oh please, Malfoy," she said. "Does Snape know?"

Draco paled. "About what?"

Hermione grinned. "He doesn't."

"You don't, either."

"Oh, please," Hermione said. "Everything about you screams it."

"What?" he asked.

"Do you even bother try to hide it?" She paused for a moment. "I suppose you do if not even your godfather knows. But you do a horrible job of it."

He rolled his eyes. "Since when were you the expert?"

She shrugged. "Since my closest Muggle friend is."

His eyebrows lifted. "And that means you automatically know when someone is or isn't."

"I'm not usually spot on. But you make it easy. You practically have it written across your forehead."

"Do not."

"You do! Admit it. Just admit it."

"Fine! You're right! I got engaged yesterday. How you can tell, I don't know. But jeez. Of course my godfather doesn't know. I haven't had the chance to tell him yet." He crossed his arms over his chest. "We're trying to keep it a secret, mind you, so don't go blabbing it to your friends. Not even Blaise knows yet."

Hermione gaped at him. Engaged? That's definitely not what she thought. She thought he was trying to hide the fact that he was gay. But she supposed it was just as likely that Malfoy was a rich man with decent taste. That didn't explain the comments about Severus, though. "Engaged?"

"To Astoria Greengrass."

"To a woman, nonetheless."

Draco frowned. "Yes?" he said. It sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Could have fooled me," Hermione mumbled back.

Draco nudged her with his elbow and motioned down the hall. "Care to walk and talk? I have a feeling that breakfast is over and I really don't want to be seen just yet."

"How do I know you aren't planning on murdering me and hiding my body?"

"You don't," he said casually, throwing another wink her way. He started down the hall.

She thought for a moment before running after him.

"So how has life been treating you, Granger?" Malfoy asked conversationally when she fell into stride beside him.

"Well enough, I suppose," she said, staring down at her feet as they walked. "How about yourself?"

"Well enough, I suppose," he repeated. She glanced up at him. He was staring straight ahead and smiling slightly. "I've been forgiven of all the wrongdoings I did during the war, I'm engaged to a very beautiful woman, and I'm living rather comfortably."

"You aren't happy, though." Hermione had taken a stab in the dark but the frown that suddenly appeared on his mouth told her she was right.

"How you manage to read people without fail has always impressed me."

"I'm not very good at it, though," she said. "You're just a very readable person."

He smiled a little at that. "Maybe I am. I always have been, I think." He sighed. "You're right, by the way. I'm not exactly happy."

"Why not?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Hermione shrugged. "You don't have anyone else to go to." Another guess. Another frown.

"You're supposed to hate me, you know. You're supposed to hate me for what I did and hate me for who I am."

"You're not a bad person," she said thoughtfully. "You were just steered the wrong way."

"Severus says the same thing," he said with another sigh.

"He's right," she said. "I'm willing to listen, you know."

"Alright," he said. "I'm not happy. In fact, I'm miserable. My parents are locked up for good, and while I do think that they got what they deserved, they are still my parents. I have a ton of money, but nothing to do with it and no one to spend it on. I don't like that."

"You donated to the school, didn't you?"

He nodded. "I wasn't sure what else to do," he answered. "I still don't really know what to do. My life is going no where."

"You're getting married."

"We hate each other," he said. "It was an arranged marriage. I was destined to marry her the moment she was born. We really can't stand each other. She hates me for what I did during the war. You know, she had wanted to join the Order but her parents wouldn't let her."

Hermione frowned. "She hates you for being a Death Eater," she said.

He nodded. "Exactly. And I don't exactly like her, either. She's... well, let's just say she's not really my type."

Hermione smirked. She'd been right. "So you are."

Realization dawned on his face. "Oh," he said. "_Oh._"

"I knew it," she said. "Like I said, you do a terrible job of hiding it."

"Merlin," he said, laughing slightly awkwardly. "How'd you know? Yeah, she's not my type because yeah, I'm gay."

"I knew it," she repeated. "Like I said, I have a Muggle friend who is. He's out, though."

"How'd you know? You're honestly the first person to guess. Not even Severus guessed. I had to tell him."

"It's hard not to guess when you're talking about how good looking Severus is."

He laughed again. "Oh, Little Severus. I guess that would have made it a little more obvious. Again, not my type. Not exactly good looking, either. Like I said there's just-"

"Something about him," Hermione said, finishing his sentence. "Yeah, I know."

Draco smiled down at her. "Oh, I know you know. Let me guess. His smile."

She frowned. "You didn't even see him smile."

"Older Severus looks about ten years younger when he smiles."

"I knew it," Hermione said, grinning.

Draco nudged her again. "I have a feeling we're going to get along just fine, Granger," he said.

"Hermione," she corrected him.

"Draco," he said, reaching a hand towards her again. This time, she willingly took it. "Draco Malfoy. And not the arrogant bastard you knew in school."

"No, you're a completely new arrogant bastard, aren't you?"

He grinned. "Sure am."

They fell into silence for a few moments. "Have you seen Harry since the war?"

Draco shook his head. "Only pictures and articles in the paper. He looks good, though."

"No flirting with him. I'm certain he doesn't swing your way."

Draco laughed and shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I mean that life has treated him pretty well since the war. He looks like he's recovered."

Hermione shrugged. "Mostly, I suppose. He's been doing better, yeah."

"That's good." He paused. They stepped into the courtyard. Students had begun to mill about, double taking at the sight of the pair. "Shall we go find somewhere a little more secluded?"

"Sure."

"I wouldn't have been able to, you know."

"Been able to what?"

"Do what Potter did. I admire him for it. He's got guts that no one else really has."

"He had to. I'm sure that if you were in the same situation, with not only the Wizarding world but the Muggle one as well resting on your shoulders, you would have done the same."

Draco shook his head. "He was prepared to die," he said. "I don't think I would have been able to do the same. I'm terrified of it. The end, I mean. He was ready to embrace it."

"To save the people he loved and cared about," she said. She thought for a moment. "Harry always says that he wouldn't have been able to do what Snape did."

Draco laughed. "No one could have done what my uncle did. Not even Potter. Not even Dumbledore, I think."

"Probably not," Hermione agreed. "He was prepared to die, too. But he wasn't prepared to do it just once. He was waiting for it everyday for twenty years."

"He's a coward, though," Draco said. "That man is a coward who happened to be given an opportunity to be great."

"That makes him brave."

"A brave coward," Draco agreed. "A very brave coward."

"And a great man."

"Careful, Granger," Draco mock scolded. "You might start sounding as though you like the man."

"I don't exactly despise him."

"And you trust him."

"With my life, I think."

Draco hummed. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "You don't have classes today, do you?"

"It's Saturday," Hermione said.

"How does a trip to Hogsmeade sound?"

Hermione smiled. "Sure," she said.

"You know," Draco said, "You're rather easy to talk to. I think I see why Potter and Weasley like you so much."

"At first, it was because I was smart and knew the answers to all of our homework."

Draco laughed. "They realized what they were missing, though."

"Eventually," she answered. "Shall we?"

Draco nodded and they started towards the gate of the castle. "Thank you," Draco said suddenly.

"For what?"

"For talking with me. When my uncle told me who it was that we were meeting, I was afraid you were going to leave the moment you saw me."

Hermione nodded. "I thought I was going to, too, to be honest. It was the fact that Snape had been the one to call you there that made me stay."

"You do trust him."

"Good thing, too."

Draco hummed again. "Yes, it is."

A comfortable silence fell over them again. They had nearly arrived at Hogsmeade when Hermione spoke up again. "You were talking about Blaise before. Do you two still talk?"

"Yeah," he said. "On occasion."

"You guys were pretty close in school, weren't you?"

Draco shrugged. "We were... well, it doesn't really matter what we were now. What matters is that we're friends now, however tentatively."

"He was given the same pardon as you."

"Yes, although he deserved it way more than I did. He did as little as he could for the Death Eaters. He didn't even ever take the Mark."

"But you did?"

"At the end of our sixth year." He pushed his sleeve up just enough to show her the bottom of the Mark.

"So Harry was wrong," Hermione breathed.

"Did he think I'd taken it earlier?"

"He thought you'd taken it before our sixth year."

Draco shook his head. "I almost did. But the Dark Lord wanted me to prove that I was loyal."

"The Cabinet," Hermione said softly.

"Yeah, the Cabinet."

Neither of them mentioned the other part of his task.

"Anyway, Blaise is living the life in America. He met a nice man out there and is living happily with him."

"He's gay too?"

Draco chuckled. "Yeah. We were sorta together in school. Sort of. It was all a little complicated."

Hermione laughed. "Our school years in general were a little complicated."

They had reached the Three Broomsticks. Draco held the door open for her. They found a table towards the back. "Would you like something?"

Hermione frowned. "Would you like me to order?"

Draco flushed and shook his head. "We're... on better terms now," he said. Madame Rosemerta had spotted them and waved warmly to Hermione before frowning at Draco.

"Alright, if you say so. I'll take a Butterbeer."

He returned a few minutes later with two Butterbeers. "Here you are," he said, placing one in front of her.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome," he answered, smiling warmly at her.

"I like this you a lot better than the you in school."

Draco smirked. "I like me better, too. I don't have to pretend or be something I'm not. It's a refreshing change."

The door to the Three Broomsticks opened again and a loud, familiar voice began talking a bit louder than what was really necessary. "Don't say it like that, Harry! That makes it sound as though it was my fault! We both know it wasn't."

"Oh, Merlin," Draco sighed upon seeing Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley make their way into the small pub.

* * *

Uh Oh!

Before you all tell me that Draco and Hermione are being totally OOC, let me explain why I think they aren't. Draco screwed up in his school years. He knows he did and is sorry for it. He wishes he didn't. Well, what's done can't be undone, but something he can do to redeem himself is be kind to the Golden Trio. And in this case, specifically Hermione. In Hermione's case, she's our beloved Hermione. I have a feeling that she would be way more open to accepting Draco's apology and start a tentative friendship with him than either Harry or Ron. She just seems like that sort of a person to me. Forgiving and what not. :)

Anyway, there's my explanation.

Thanks for reading!

-Rayne


	9. Harry and Hints

I am so incredibly sorry it is so long between posts. I promise that this will start getting better soon! I'm typing this out on an iPod, so I apologize beforehand for any mistakes that I make. And I'm sure there will be plenty of them!

I don't own any of the characters or situations that you recognize. If I did, lots of things would have happened differently. :)

Let me just say that you guys are fantastic. The review and favorites and follows and everything are wonderful. I love hearing back from you guys.

I am really excited to know what you guys think about this chapter, too! Please please please leave me a review at the end! I love hearing back form you guys!

Without further ado, chapter 9! Allons-y!

-Rayne

* * *

Harry saw Hermione first. A smile appeared on his lips. Then his eyes fell on Draco. The smile disappeared as easily as it came. Harry started towards them, looking extremely confused. Ron trailed behind him, still talking, unaware of Hermione or Draco.

It wasn't until the pair reached the table that Ron realized who was occupying it.

"Hermione!" he said excitedly, obviously ignoring the blushing blond.

He reached out and pulled Hermione from her seat, wrapping his arms around her in a friendly hug. "Hello, Ronald," she said, hugging him back.

"Hello," Harry said as Ron let go of her and she was welcomed into her other friend's arms. "It's good to see you." He let go of her. There was an awkward silence. No one was quite sure what to say or do.

Draco, to everyone's surprise, was the one who broke the silence, standing suddenly. "Hello, Potter," he said curtly. "I see you're doing well."

The pub was suddenly quiet. All eyes were focused on the Boy-Who-Lived and the ex-Death Eater. Whispers broke out again when Harry offered a hand to Draco.

Draco reluctantly took the proffered hand and shook it, smiling warmly at Harry. "Please," Harry said, "it's Harry."

"As long as you call me Draco," Draco insisted. Hermione breathed out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Draco turned to Ron next, offering him a hand as well. "Weasley."

"Malfoy," Ron said, also shaking Draco's hand. Ron was not nearly as willing to shake the Slytherin's hand. Hermione noticed that his other hand was clenched and he was glaring at Draco like Draco had just killed his puppy. Hermione frowned at Ron. He noticed as he let go of Draco's hand. His frown deepened. Hermione motioned to the other two chairs at their little table. Harry, Ron, and Draco sat down. She took her own seat, picking up her drink once more.

"Would you two like anything?" Draco asked. "It's on me."

"Firewhisky," Ron said immediately. His fists were still clenched.

"Don't you think it's a bit early to be drinking something so strong?" Hermione asked cautiously.

He turned his glare to her. "No," he said curtly.

"Butterbeer will be fine for me," Harry said, smiling at Draco again. "Thank you, Draco."

"Sure," he said, standing up to go retrieve the drinks.

"What the hell are you doing with him?" Ron snapped as soon as Draco was out of earshot.

"Having drinks," Hermione answered.

Ron frowned. "You're having drinks with _Malfoy_? You aren't dating him, are you?" His voice was heavy and laced with suspicion.

Hermione glared. "Why is it any of your business?"

"She can date who she wants to," Harry said with a shrug. "And she's right, it isn't any of our business."

Draco returned, placing their drinks in front of them. Ron nodded and Harry murmured a soft thanks. Draco sat down again, addressing Ron and Harry with his next questions. "Is life treating you two alright? I heard you were going to be starting Auror training soon. Are you guys looking forward to that?"

"Yes, we are. It got postponed a bit, though, and we decided a side trip to come here and visit Hermione and Ginny was necessary." Harry winked at Hermione.

Hermione grinned. "Ginny will be excited to see you, Harry. She hasn't stopped talking about you since the year started. She's waiting for you to ask her out again."

Harry paled. "I was afraid of that." He fidgeted for a moment, staring down at his lap as though he'd find the perfect distraction under the table. "Hermione, I don't think I'm going to take her back."

Hermione frowned. "You should tell her that soon before she gets her hopes up much higher."

Harry nodded. "I know. I just don't really know how to approach the subject. Or how to explain myself."

"The truth is usually the thing that causes the least amount of drama," Draco said with a shrug.

"Yeah, Draco," Hermione said, narrowing her eyebrows at him. "The truth. To your ex-girlfriends or current girlfriends or even your fiancees?"

Draco glared at her in warning.

"I would tell her the truth," Harry said softly, "but I know what whatever I say to her might have a funny way of ending up in the papers."

Hermione sighed. "She is a bit of a blabbermouth sometimes. But if you ask her to keep the truth a secret, she will."

"What is the truth, anyway? Meet another girl out there, did you?" Draco waggled his eyebrows at Harry. Harry frowned. Draco's eyebrows raised even more. "Or maybe a wizard? Or maybe a mermaid or centaur?"

"Mermaid? Centaur?"

Draco shrugged. "We don't discriminate."

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't really matter what the truth is," he said. "It just matters that I know what I want and Ginny isn't exactly it."

"You can't even just give her one more chance?"

Ron broke in. "Hermione, he's made his decision. Let him be."

Hermione was surprised. Ron was backing Harry up, even though it would break his little sister's heart. That was rather out of character for Ron. Usually, Ron was right there to defend Ginny, even against Harry. "Alright," she said, holding her hands out in defeat.

"Well I hope it's the right one," Draco said with a soft smile. "I've made a few decisions that I-"

"Of course it's the right one," Ron snarled. He glared across the table at Draco. "Leave him alone."

Draco mimicked Hermione's gesture of surrender. "Didn't mean any harm," he said.

"Sure you didn't," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"Ronald!" Hermione snapped at the same time that Harry muttered "Ron!" under his breath.

"Sorry about him," Harry breathed to Draco. "Some of us aren't as... _mature _as we should be."

Draco chuckled. Ron blushed to the tips of his ears. "It's quite alright," Draco said.

"Did you get to see the Quidditch World Cup last summer?"

"Yeah, I got tickets from the Minister."

"Oh, that's right. Kingsley talked to me about that. They were a thank you for donating to the school."

Draco's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You were the anonymous guy who suggested them, weren't you?"

Harry shrugged and smiled. "Nah," he said with a wink. Draco's eyes widened. "He wanted to check with me to make sure that the anonymous suggestion he got was a good one."

"Sure," Draco said, smiling brightly. "Well anyway, yeah. The game was fantastic."

"We got tickets, too," Ron said, grinning smugly. "We were in the box with the Minister himself."

"Doesn't surprise me," Draco said with a shrug. "Not at all, after what you three did for all of us. Did you go too, Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I gave my ticket to Ginny. I'd been to one already and it didn't end well. Didn't really want to take that chance again."

Draco paled. "Oh, right," he said. "The last one you guys went to was the one before our fourth year."

"After which you and your stupid Death Eater buddies attacked us."

Draco frowned. "I wasn't involved with that."

"Right," Ron said sarcastically. "And I'm sure your father wasn't, either?"

"He was," Draco answered softly. "I'm ashamed to say that he was one of the men who donned their masks that night. I tried to stop him but he wasn't having any of it. He sent me home just before the attacks started. Made me stay back with my mother so that I wouldn't get in the way."

"You might not have been part of the attack, but I'm sure you were cheering them on, not trying to stop them."

"Ron, that's enough," Hermione snapped before Draco got the chance to retort. "Either you can be pleasant to him and enjoy our visit or he and I will both go back to school and I will request Dumbledore to not allow you onto campus."

Ron shut up but kept glaring at Draco.

"What brings you to Hogwarts, Draco?" Harry asked. "I'm assuming that's where you came from, anyway."

Draco nodded enthusiastically, obviously glad for the change in topic. Hermione smiled at Harry, silently thanking him. "My uncle Severus needs help with a potion. He asked Hermione and I to help out."

"What sort of potion?"

Hermione and Draco glanced at each other. "Well, we aren't exactly clear yet... I think he's trying to keep it a secret," Hermione said.

"An undetectable poison for Dumbledore, I bet," Ron snapped.

"Ronald!" Hermione shrieked. "Ronald Weasley, you stop that right now!"

"Maybe it would be best if you left, Ron," Harry mumbled.

"But my sister! We still haven't seen her yet!"

"You'll have chances to later on, I'm sure," Harry said calmly. "We'll be here for a few weeks, anyway."

"Will you?" Hermione and Draco asked simultaneously, both wearing identical looks of surprise.

"Yes, we will be," Harry said with a grin. He glanced warily back at Ron. "I'll meet up with you later, Ron."

Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Don't hang around the Death Eater too long, though, Harry."

"Ronlad!" Hermione snapped again.

Ron dejectedly rose. He shot another glare at Draco before striding angrily out of the pub again.

"I'm so sorry about him," Harry said. "He really embarrasses me sometimes."

"Why do you hang around him, then?" Draco asked.

Harry shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "He's my best friend. He can be an absolute prick sometimes, but on the inside, he's actually a very decent guy. He's the sort of guy that I can rely on. One that's always there for me, you know?"

"Careful," Draco teased. "Say much more and I might think you're in love with the guy."

Harry grinned. "Hardly," he said. "Not my type."

Hermione and Draco both gaped at Harry. Hermione wondered what exactly he meant by that. She was sure the same question was swirling around in Draco's head, too.

Harry didn't give them much time to think about his little comment before standing up. "Shall we head up to Hogwarts?"

Draco and Hermione glanced at each other before nodding and following Harry out of the Three Broomsticks.

They walked slowly back to the castle, talking amicably about Harry's time spent travelling and Hermione's time at school so far and Draco's life at home. Hermione didn't miss the fact that Draco conveniently forgot to mention his fiancee. She also noticed that he seemed to hang on to every word that Harry spoke and kept his eyes focused on the war hero much longer than was truly necessary for the small-talk filled conversation.

Snape was waiting for them at the front doors of the castle. "Draco. Miss Granger. Harry."

Harry grinned and strode forward, offering Snape his hand. Snape took it, smiling despite himself. Harry happily pulled the man into an embrace, keeping their hands clasped and clapping the back of the taller man. Snape embraced him back for a moment. The students wandering near them gave the two men a variety of strange looks. Neither paid them any attention. "It's good to see you, Severus!"

"Good to see you, too," Snape drawled. Hermione snickered. His eyes narrowed at her but he didn't say anything more.

Snape and Harry had become unlikely friends, making amends as soon as Snape was awake after the war. Harry had apologized and begged forgiveness. To everyone's surprise, Snape had merely nodded, reluctantly starting a very tentative friendship with the young Gryffindor and the son of his once-was enemy.

"It's been a while! You been doing alright?"

"Just fine," Snape answered.

"He's been more than fine," Draco answered, grinning at his godfather. "He's been settling back into his boring routine of teaching."

"It's hardly boring," Snape mused. "Not with the dunderheads I teach. They provide a certain level of... entertainment."

Hermione regarded him for a moment. She had never see him act so civil or social before. He seemed perfectly calm, as though the situation didn't bother him in the slightest. Hermione realized that it must be because it didn't. It would have two years ago but now, he seemed to take everything in stride, even the situations that before he would have avoided at all costs.

"Harry, it's actually a good thing you're here. I need your help with something. Would you mind joining the three of us in my office at seven?"

Harry shrugged. "I suppose it can be arranged."

"Alright." Without another word, Snape turned and started towards the stairs. "Russell is looking for you, by the way," he said over his shoulder before disappearing entirely.

"Russell?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's Russell? Is he the one you're dating?"

"Why does everyone assume I'm dating someone?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.

"Are you?" a calm voice asked. Severus. Hermione whipped around to face him. He was smiling. "Found you," he said.

Hermione turned back to Harry. He was gaping at the newcomer, eyes surveying him from head to toe. "Merlin," he breathed. "Hermione... Who the hell is this? I mean he... He looks exactly like Severus. I mean... spitting image. Really. Uncanny."

"Russell Snape," Severus said, smiling charmingly at Harry and offering his hand.

Harry reluctantly took it. "Hello, Russell." Turning back to Hermione and Draco, he frowned. "There seems to be a lot of hand shaking today."

"Meeting lots of people?" Severus asked.

"No, Russ," Hermione said. "He's been reacquainting himself with people he knew back when he was in school."

"What's your name?" Severus asked.

Harry glanced between Hermione and Severus in question. "He doesn't know who I am?"

"Should I?"

Harry smiled. "No. It's a nice change. You not knowing me, I mean."

Severus thought for a moment. He studied Harry's face. Hermione could see him focusing on Harry's eyes. "Lily."

"I'm sorry?"

Severus shook himself. "Nothing. You must be Potter's son. Harry."

Harry frowned. "You sound as though you knew my father."

"No, of course not. I've heard of him, though. He and his wife, Lily." Hermione's eyes widened. Severus knew. He knew what would happen to Lily. He hadn't even asked about it. Hadn't questioned it once. She could see the sadness etching his face now, though. "They... they died. Were killed."

"I know," Harry said.

"And you lived."

"Yes."

"And no one knew why. The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Yes," Harry said again, frowning.

Severus nodded. "I'm sorry. About your parents, I mean. I've heard they were really well-loved."

"They had good friends. Their friends missed them dearly to their dying day."

"My uncle was a friend of your mother."

"For the first few years of their schooling, I know. But then he made a mistake."

"One that he had to live with every day after that."

Harry sighed. "She never forgave him. That tore him up."

"He was never the same after that."

"Well, until he met that girl his seventh year."

"What girl?"

Harry frowned. "If you don't know... well, it's not exactly my story to tell. Ask your uncle about it."

Severus frowned. Hermione could see the despair and sadness and confusion in his eyes. He was fidgeting. He wanted to get out of there, she could see it. She stepped forward and put a hand on his arm. "Would you like me to show you to the Common Room?" she asked him softly.

He nodded quickly. "Sure."

She waved to Harry and Draco. "I'll see you boys later." Putting a gentle hand on Severus' back, she started guiding him gently up the stairs. He went with her willingly, staring at the ground in front of him and not saying a word the entire way there.

* * *

Alright! There it is. Sorry, it was very slow. This whole thing has been rather slow so far... But it will begin picking up soon, I promise. Next chapter, Draco and Hermione meet with Severus in his office!

Thank you thank you thank you a million times over to everyone who has followed this story and favorited it and reviewed. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. You guys are amazing and fantastic and wonderful and brilliant and I LOVE YOU ALL PASSIONATELY. Really. I do. :-*

Please please please leave me another review, lovely readers!

Thank you so very very much for reading!

Love all around!

-Rayne


	10. Vampires and Voldie

You guys are amazing. The reviews I've been getting and all of those follows and favorites are amazing!

Some of you thought there was a hint of Drarry. Muahaha. Well, let's just say that I love that pairing.

Other's appreciated the mention of the girl Severus met in his seventh year. Was that Hermione? Was it someone else? Who knows?

Well, I do. :D Keep reading, and you'll find out soon, too!

Here's the next chapter! Two in two days! I'm on a roll!

Please enjoy!

Allons-y!

-Rayne

* * *

Hermione didn't take him to the Common Room. She took him back to the Room of Requirement instead. He didn't say anything as she guided him inside. He sat heavily in the chair he'd been lounging in earlier. He stared at the ground and didn't move another muscle.

She watched him in silence for a moment before deciding to break it.

"You knew about Lily."

"Couldn't find a book about Harry that didn't say something about the way that Lily died," he said softly.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why should I have?" he snapped back.

"You can talk to me."

"I hardly know you!"

"That doesn't matter. Severus, you have to talk to someone. You just got thrown out of your time. You met yourself, were sorted into your rival house, and found out that the girl who was your best friend for a while and whom you had a crush on died! You have to at least have _something_ to say about all of that!"

"Yes. Leave me alone."

"Severus."

"Stop acting like you know what's best for me."

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms. "And if I do know what's best for you?"

"Trust me. You don't. You don't know anything about me."

"I know that this must be extremely difficult for you."

"Why do you care?"

"Because I do, Severus."

"That's right. It's because your a bloody Gryffindor.

"You're a bloody Gryffindor now, too."

Severus stood up abruptly and stormed up to Hermione. He pointed accusingly at her. "But I'm not a bleeding sap. I'm not a stupid bint who can't mind her own business and has to put her nose where it doesn't belong. I thought you said you try not to pry? This is prying."

"I'm sorry if I've done something to offend you," Hermione tried, suddenly realizing where this conversation was going.

"Get out," he snarled, crossing his arms and taking a step away from her. "Get out and leave me alone."

"Fine," Hermione spat. "Do what you want. Sit in here and sulk. I don't care."

"Just get out! Merlin!"

Hermione turned and started towards the door. "I'll still be here when you decided you need to talk to someone, Russ."

"Don't call me that. And don't expect me to suddenly start spilling my guts to you."

"See you later, Severus," Hermione said. She stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind it and leaning against it with a huff.

A snivel from the hallway made her look up. It was Ginny. She was desperately trying to mop up her tears as though she didn't want Hermione to know she'd been crying.

"Ginny!" Hermione said, hurrying forward and taking her friend into her arms. "Ginny, hun, what's wrong?"

"He... He told me it's over! He never planned to ask me out again." Ginny whimpered and buried her face in Hermione shoulder, trying to muffle another round of rather loud sobs that racked her body.

"Oh. You ran into him, did you?"

"Yes! In the hallway. With Draco bloody Malfoy of all people."

"What did he tell you? Did he give you a reason?"

"He met someone. Someone while he was travelling with my brother. A girl."

"Oh, Gin, I'm so sorry."

"Not only that," Ginny stuttered, "But she's a v-vampire!"

Hermione froze. "She's a what?"

"Vampire! Harry Potter is dating a bloody _vampire_!"

Hermione began stroking Ginny's back. "Oh, Merlin."

"Where's Russell?" Ginny asked suddenly. "Did Russell find you?"

Hermione sighed. "Yes, he did. And I think... Well. We had a bit of a spat."

Ginny sighed. "I really think that Russell is more like Snape than anyone I've ever met before. Are we sure he isn't actually Snape's son?"

"Pretty certain," Hermione muttered. "Now I think I need to go talk to Harry and figure this all out."

"Do you think he's finally gone crazy? He kept going on about how this vampire was different than any other one on the planet."

"I'm sure that not all of them are all that bad."

Ginny sighed. Tears started streaming down her face again. "He chose a _vampire_ over me, Hermione!" She clutched to Hermione again.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, I'll go talk to him. Go find Luna, alright? Go find Luna and go down to the kitchens. I think you deserve a bit of chocolate ice cream."

Ginny stepped away from Hermione and nodded slowly. She looked lost, like she wasn't sure what to do. Hermione pointed her in the direction of the Ravenclaw Common Room. "Thanks," Ginny murmured. She hugged Hermione one more time and started down the hall.

Hermione glanced back at the Room of Requirement and, thinking that Severus maybe really did need a bit of time to himself, started down the hall in search of Harry.

* * *

She found him just outside of the Gryffindor Common Room, talking with Draco still. They were discussing the most recent Quidditch season.

"Harry James Potter," Hermione snapped. "You have some explaining to do."

He paled when his eyes fell on her angry expression. "She told you."

"Of course she did! She's torn up! You broke her heart!"

Harry's shoulders slumped. "It wasn't a choice. It just sort of... happened."

"A _vampire_?"

Draco's eyes widened and he turned to Harry. "A vampire?" he repeated. "You know what vampires are, right? They are the _undead_. Necrophilia. That's really, really disgusting."

"She's not like them, though! I mean, she's got the fangs and all. She can't go out when the sun is up. But she's not like the others. She doesn't have the blue skin or black eyes or any of that. She looks just like you or me. She's quite beautiful, actually. She acts like us, too. She's got a great sense of humor and is extremely kind and understanding."

"So she's a half-vampire," Draco said.

"No, because even part-vampires have white skin. They still are dead. Just not... as dead, I suppose," Hermione said. "Like Lorcan d'Eath."

Draco snorted. "The singer?"

"Right," Hermione said. "That's not the point. The point is, Harry, how is she a vampire if she doesn't look like a vampire?"

Harry frowned. "Who cares what she is or isn't? I love her. I have since I first met her. And that's that. Nothing you say will make me think any less of her."

Draco and Hermione glanced at each other suspiciously. _Something's not right,_ Hermione thought. It was clear that Draco was thinking the same thing.

"Where's Russell?" Draco asked in an obvious attempt to change the strange subject.

"In the Room of Requrement. Would you mind talking to him? I think I offended him."

"You tried to get him to talk, didn't you?"

"How'd you guess?"

Draco shrugged. "I could see it in his eyes, too," he said softly before turning and walking in the direction Hermione had just come from.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"I said something that upset Russell. It's no problem. What is a problem is the fact that Ginny is absolutely heartbroken. You know, when we were at the Three Broomsticks, with all the comments you were making and whatnot... well, I thought you were-"

"Gay," Harry finished for her, blushing slightly. "Yeah, I realized that it may have sounded that way. Especially with my comment about Ron and the way I was avoiding the subject of why I wasn't taking Ginny back. Well, that's not really the case. I really did fall in love with a girl."

"Vampire," Hermione breathed. "What's her name?"

"Rose. Rose Obitus."

"That's Latin."

"That's neat."

"Harry, that's Latin for death."

"Yeah, right. And my name actually means 'Boy-Who-Lived," Harry said sarcastically, waving her off. "It's just a family name. The meaning doesn't actually apply."

"Harry! This could be very serious!"

"She's not that bad, Hermione! She's actually quite wonderful! I'd expected you of all people to be understanding about this, Hermione!"

Hermione shook her head. "You're right. I'm sorry. If you love her, you love her. End of story. I hope she's good for you, Harry."

Harry smiled. "She is, I promise."

Hermione nodded. "I have to go find Russell. I'll catch up with you later, yeah?"

"In Severus' office at seven!" he said. "Is he wanting me to help you on the potion you and Malfoy are working on?"

"Well, we haven't started. And you know, at the beginning, he said it would just be him and I. It makes me wonder what he's thinking and planning."

"We might never know," Harry said, grinning.

"Very true," Hermione mused.

* * *

She never got back around to seeing Severus. She knew Draco was there, though, and figured that Russ was probably in better hands than he would be if she went back in and tried dealing with him. She was frustrated and confused and didn't want to deal with a moody Slytherin on top of it all. Instead, she made her way back down to the kitchens where Ginny and Luna sat, both eating out of the same ginormous tub of chocolate ice cream. After consoling Ginny one more time and discussing the latest issue of the Quibbler with Luna and eating lunch with the pair of them, she started up for the library.

She met Draco on the way there.

"Granger!" he said, frowning. "He's not quite right."

"I figured he wouldn't be."

"And you weren't exactly helping."

Hermione sighed as they started down the hall again, side by side, drawing a wide variety of strange glances. "Yes, I realized that afterward."

"Just because he was sorted into your house doesn't mean he can be dealt with the way you deal with the rest of the Gryffindors. You need to be careful with him. We get... well, we aren't always the most emotionally stable people. He in particular hasn't exactly had it easy."

"I know. I need to apologize to him. I'll do that later. First, I need to do a little bit of research."

Draco grinned and nudged her. "On Harry's vampire, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah."

"And I thought for sure he had just decided to come out of the closet."

"You were hoping for that, weren't you?" Hermione asked, smiling a little despite herself.

Draco flushed. "What's her name? Clearly you have one. You wouldn't just start browsing the library for random vamps."

"Yeah, I have a name. Rose Obitus."

"Wait, doesn't that mean death?"

"Exactly what I was thinking," Hermione breathed. "I'm thinking that she probably changed her name from Rosa to Rose, too."

"To keep up with the times," Draco agreed.

"Right," Hermione said. "They live for a really long time, so maybe she's much older than she looks?"

"And maybe picked up some cloaking tricks along the way."

Hermione nodded. "Exactly! Some part-vampires have been known to have magical abilities."

"Full-vampires, too, you know. They are magical beings, after all. Some really powerful full-vamps have been known to harness their magic and use it just like wizards and witches."

Hermione frowned. "That's not good. I was willing to believe that a half-vampire could maybe right their ways."

"But full-vampire?" Draco said. "Not a chance. That goes against everything a vampire is."

Hermione hummed. "Anyway," she said, "Rosa means rose, obviously, and Obitus means death. That has to be important, don't you think?"

They reached the library and, after pulling a few books on vampires, found a table towards the back. They read in silence for a few hours with no luck.

"Anything?" Hermione asked Draco when students began getting up and leaving for dinner.

"Nothing," he said. "I want to check the Restricted section, though."

Hermione nodded. "That's a good idea. We can ask Snape for a pass. I bet he'd give us one. Especially if it's for Harry's safety."

Draco chuckled. "It's worth a shot, I suppose."

"I'm sure of it," Hermione said confidently.

* * *

They headed to dinner after a little while, Hermione joining a still tearful Ginny and Draco striding off towards the Head Table, where an extra two places had been set on either side of Snape, one for each he and Harry, who was already chatting away happily in the ear of an annoyed Severus Snape.

Hermione noticed that Severus wasn't at dinner. She wasn't the only one who did, either. She noticed that Snape kept glancing regularly at their table. She met his gaze. His eyebrows quirked slightly in question. She shrugged her shoulders in answer. He frowned and returned to his meal. She felt bad telling him she didn't know where Severus was, but felt that Severus wouldn't be pleased with her if he got a talking to from his "uncle".

After the meal had finished, Hermione hurried to the Head Table, where Snape, Draco, and Harry were already softly talking. When she approached them, Snape nodded to her in greeting. "Perhaps we should finish this in my office," he mused.

The walk there was completely silent. Everyone was obviously lost in their own thoughts.

Hermione's were stuck on Rose and Harry. She wondered if she really had any reason to be concerned or if maybe Harry was right. It was possible that this Rose girl was as harmless as Harry thought her to be. But then again, she was a vampire.

She also wondered what Harry and Draco had to do with the potion that Snape had told her they were going to have to prepare. She didn't ponder this too long, though, because she knew she'd be getting answers soon.

As soon as they were in Snape's office, the door shut behind them.

Snape sat behind his desk, leaned back casually in his chair, and steepled his fingers, resting his chin against the tips of them. He looked more relaxed than Hermione had ever seen him. He sighed and began to talk.

"Harry, that boy you met today... that wasn't my nephew."

"I knew it," Harry said, grinning. "You have a son."

Snape's lips quirked up at the corners. "Hardly. I've been very careful to _not_ grace this world with any of my own offspring."

"We don't need to hear that you've been practicing safe sex, Severus. Just get to the point," Draco drawled, dropping himself ungracefully in one of the chairs on the opposite side of Snape's own.

Snape glared at him. "He's me," he said.

"Draco? I will admit that he's like you in some ways, but-" Harry cut off and his eyes doubled in size. "Oh. Oh, my Merlin. Holy fucking _shit_ that explains _so _much."

Snape nodded. "I had a bit of an accident with a potion. Hermione has been put in charge of 'Russel Snape'. He was sorted into Gryffindor and is my brother's son."

"Potion accident," Harry said, nodding. "Not surprising, I guess. You want the four of us to develop a potion to send you back with."

"Wrong," Snape said. "I will admit that you and Draco are very good at potions, but you're job is going to be very different. Hermione and I will be working on the potion. Draco, gathering the ingredients is going to take as much work as creating the potion. As I recall, your father mentioned to me one day that you were rather adept with collecting ingredients."

Draco shrugged. "Yeah, I'm alright."

Snape turned to Hermione. "I haven't exactly told you everything."

"What do you mean?"

Snape sighed. "The presence of my younger self in the present will have a rather horrible effect on the past, obviously, therefore effecting the present itself."

Hermione caught on immediately to what he meant. "The Dark Lord."

Snape nodded carefully. "Yes. Harry will have never destroyed the last few horcruxes and the Dark Lord will be able to return."

"Shit," Harry said again.

"Yipee," Draco said sarcastically. "Voldie's coming back!"

"Shut up," Snape snapped, leaning forward and resting his arms on his desk. "Harry, this is important information for you. They won't be the same objects this time around. It's rather complicated. The horcruxes that you did destroy were destroyed for good. That means in the present, future and past."

"So he can't use those same objects."

"Precisely."

"Damn." Harry collapsed in the seat beside Draco. "That's not good news."

"Death Eaters will be returning to life. Some will wake up one morning, mysteriously outside of Azkaban. Dementors will be returning. Vampires and Giants and Werewolves and everything of the sort will once again find themselves pledging their loyalties to the dark side. And, eventually, if we don't send me back in time, the Dark Lord will, in fact, return."

"And people said you didn't help during the war," Draco scoffed. "Merlin, Severus! It sounds as though you were the one who won it for us!"

"No, that was definitely Harry," Hermione said. "Severus helped out enough, though, that he had the ability to make or break the war for us. He's here now, which means that we will inevitable lose the war."

"I'm glad you understand this, Hermione," Harry said, "because I don't."

"Severus is here, not there. The sword? All of the information that we got from Severus? We won't have ever received. All of those lives he saved? They will all die." Hermione paled in realization, glancing at Snape. "Oh, my god," she whispered. "_Harry._"

"What?" he asked.

Snape only nodded. "The night he was moved. I was there. The Death Eaters knew would have known right away that Harry was with Hagrid had I not drawn their attention away from him."

"You mean I'm going to die?"

"Possibly," Snape said softly. "You might die before then, though. You might die by broomstick when you're eleven. Or by werewolf attack when you're thirteen. Or perhaps by Barty Crouch Jr. when you're fourteen."

"Have I ever told you thank you?"

Snape shook his head. "Now is not the time. I need you to go talk to Dumbledore. He'll have more information on the horcruxes. Hermione, stay here. Draco, I'll call you back when we need you again."

"Alright," Draco said. He stood and, after helping a shaking Harry up, guided the Gryffindor out of the office.

"You saved me, too," Hermione said when they left. "The night Lupin turned. And I'm sure that's not the only time something you did affected me in a very positive way."

"Let's not think about that," Snape muttered. "Let's go down into my lab. I have some ideas that you may be able to add to."

"Alright," Hermione said softly, head still reeling with the importance of what she had just been told.

* * *

A/N: Rose Obitus? The past is unravelling? Harry's life, and possibly even Hermione's, hangs in the balance? The Dark Lord might return? Harry has to find more horcruxes? What?

So much going on! Please review and let me know what you think! Ask questions! I may or may not answer them! :P Really, though. Ask and I will answer what I can.

I am already starting on the next chapter, so expect that to go up in the next few days!

Thanks so very very much for reading, all you lovely people out there. :)

-Rayne


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